Facts


•    At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.

•    The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of global income.

•    According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. These children “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

•    Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing  countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

•    If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target to reduce the proportion of underweight children by 50 percent will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

•    An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004.

•    Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malaria deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.

•    Approximately 1.8 million children die each year from diarrhea.

•    10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy).

•    1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

•    2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized.

•    Of the 2.2 billion children in the world, 1 billion – nearly half  - live in poverty.

•    For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are:
- 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)
- 400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)
- 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)

•    200,000 child slaves are sold every year in Africa. There are an estimated 8,000 young girls currently forced into slavery in West Africa alone.

•    In 2006, 9.7 million children died before their fifth birthday (Figure 1).

•    In 2007 9.2 million children died from preventable causes.
- 25,205 children die a day
- 1,050 children an hour
- 18 children a minute
- 1 child dies every 3 seconds

•    Malnutrition, poor hygiene, lack of access to safe water, and inadequate sanitation contribute to more than half of these deaths.

•    Of the 9.7 million children who perish each year, 3.1 million are from South Asia, and 4.8 million are from Sub-Saharan Africa. In the developing world, child mortality is considerably higher among children living in rural areas and in the poorest households.

•    A recent UNICEF survey placed the U.S. 20th among 21 economically advanced nations in terms of overall child-well being.

•    It would take only $9 billion to provide safe water worldwide and just $13 billion to provide for basic health and nutrition needs globally. Europe and the United States spend $17 billion a year on pet food alone.

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