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Millennium Development Goal #2

What would happen if half the population in America were uneducated? What if the children in America had no way of being educated? What if more than half of America were living in poverty? This is exactly what’s taking place in the developing world!  1 in 4 adults in the developing countries are illiterate while more than 100 million children do not go to school. These and many other issues in the poorest countries are still increasing and becoming a great concern. These tragic predicaments will be reduced considerably with the help of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals are as follows: to rid hunger and poverty, achieve worldwide primary education, do away with sexism, decrease the high rates of child mortality, care for maternal health, fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, maintain the environment, and develop a global partnership. These superb objectives should and will not go unheard or be hindered.
By achieving worldwide primary education, the high rates of HIV/AIDS will decrease. Primary education isn’t just a want in this world, but a need. How can one go forth without receiving proper education? Children in the poorest countries require proper education in order to survive. Learning about the incurable disease will most definitely bring the high cases of HIV/AIDS down and many lives will be saved as a result.


NotJustInAfrica.jpgIt is common for children in a poor country to work on the street. Abuse is one major factor for their doing so. Poverty is another. Working all day every day is asking too much of the children, who just want and need to be loved and cared for. However, other children are living in even worse situations. Some children are homeless and live out in the streets. These kids who lack a home, food, and clothing are more likely to be killed or abused than the children who are forced to find a job and provide for their family. Through desperation, these homeless children are pulled into making prostitution and drugs a part of their life. Some children even escape from the intolerable situations (such as abuse or neglect) at their home and live by themselves.


One nerve-wracking fact is that many fail to contemplate as to why the children are homeless on the streets of these countries. Many do not want to show compassion for the less fortunate and turn from them. They do not know that these children could have been victims of a situation, fled their home, and as a result, are homeless. “Why do they steal?” some ask. The answer to this question is clear, and will be left in the open for you to answer.


In the developing world, many believe that a woman’s only job is to stay in the house and cook, clean, and take care of her family. Another saddening fact is that many parents marry their daughters off at a young age to avoid raising her. Having no knowledge of birth control can lead the way to early pregnancy and the boy and girl become parents at  a very young age. Lack of knowledge about the proper foods to eat is another great concern. Mothers know not what to feed their children, leading to other sicknesses such as anemia and malnutrition. Men are in control of their own lives, forcing women to latch on to them being they have no money or safety.
Malnutrition is a major issue in the third world countries. Statistics show that 500 million people are malnourished. 10 million die every year. Third world countries grow desperate for food and suffer from hunger and malnutrition, while the first and second world countries are concerned only about the possibility of nuclear war.  
Diarrhea is the most common cause of death in young children in developing countries. 1 out of 10 children die in Indonesia a year. The infections start from lack of hygiene and consuming contaminated foods. Dehydration is the cause of death due to large amounts of water loss. Measles has a death rate in Mexico 180 times higher than the United States. Measles’ death rate in a few African countries is 400 times that of the United States. In West Africa, 1 in 20 people die from measles.   The Millennium Development Goals come forth to rid the third world countries of these unbearable situations. These issues can be conquered one by one as we get together  to make the world a better place.

- Deborah Rose


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