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state of the worldAs we progress into the third millennium, the United States (US) is still the largest and most dynamic economy the world has ever seen and its influence pervades every continent on the planet. Even after the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, with just 4.6% of the world's population, the US economy comprises 20.2% of world Gross National Income*(GNI), absorbs 24% of the annual world output of natural resources and pumps out 20% of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The US is such a dominant player in the world that just one state, California, has an economy on a par with that of Italy, whilst the third largest state, Texas, has a greater output than all of sub-Saharan Africa. However,
the US is only first amongst equals in the wealthy league of 32 advanced
economies which includes all 16 countries of the Euro Zone**, Japan, UK,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden,
Iceland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Israel. Collectively
these countries are often referred to as the 'North'. And together with
only 15.3% of the world's population they make up a colossal 52.6% of
global output. And the
gap between the North and South just keeps on widening - a) by increasing
economic growth in rich countries and b) by deepening poverty in many
poor countries. In 1820 the ratio of living standards between the richest
and poorest countries was some three to one. Then industrialisation cut
in and things started to speed up. By 1913 the ratio was 11:1; 1950 35:1;
1973 44:1; 1993 72:1; and 2005 90:1. And so we have reached the absurd
situation today where the richest 1% of the world's population have an
income similar to the total income of the poorest 57%. Meanwhile, in most of the developing world, life, as we know it, is in stark contrast. Here 2.7bn people struggle to live on less than $2 (£1.29) per day, over 1bn people go to bed hungry every night, 890m people risk their lives everyday by drinking dirty water, medical services - where there are any - are overwhelmed and often unaffordable, 77m children do not attend primary school and electricity, which has powered economies in the North for almost 100 years, is still not available to 2bn people in the South. Then there are the horrendous living conditions in most shanty towns with stinking open sewers running through the streets where children play, leaking roofs that make everything damp for days on end and crime and violence that can erupt at any time in places where crushing poverty is a way of life. All of this
translates into a depressing death toll which should be at the top of
every news bulletin in the North - for every single day in the South
Yet the world does care when tragedy strikes as was shown by the phenomenal international response to the Asian tsunami disaster where an estimated 230,000 people lost their lives in 14 countries in that Boxing Day tragedy in 2004. Perhaps this was because it was a 'real' event where TV thrust the death and devastation directly into our living space and so people everywhere felt they wanted to help alleviate the suffering. As a result they gave magnanimously to the Disasters Emergency Committee and other charities to help save survivors and to rebuild lives and livelihoods. The tsunami was a natural disaster and the world-wide response was magnificent; the death of 60,000 men, women and children needlessly everyday is a preventable disaster, which sadly has, as yet, seen the world unable to respond effectively. For those who are 'lucky' enough to survive in the very poorest countries sometimes as many as 85% of the population eke out monotonous lives as subsistence farmers often barely able to scratch a living for themselves and their families from land long paralysed by constant use. There a typical day breaks down as follows:-
Most of the world's poorest nations are in sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report calculates development throughout the world by using three criteria in its Human Development Index (HDI) - life expectancy, adult literacy/ primary school enrolment and GNI per capita. It then places countries into very high, high, medium and low human development. In 2009, in a list of 182 countries, 31 out of the 33 lowest placed countries were in sub-Saharan Africa. (And 2 more, Somalia and Zimbabwe, were in such a wretched state that they were not even considered for inclusion). And this stark lack of development is further under-lined by the fact that every country on the mainland of sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa and Botswana, are to be found from 103rd position and below in the 2009 Human Development Index. Not surprisingly then as far as reaching the UN Millennium Development Goals (for full list see GLOBALISATION) set to be achieved by 2015, sub-Saharan Africa doesn't stand a chance. According to the World Bank, on current progress, sub-Saharan Africa will not meet the goal for reducing child mortality by 2/3rds until 2106 and it will take until 2129 to achieve universal primary education. As for three more goals - hunger, income and access to sanitation - no date can be set because the situation is worsening. And so,
as Charles Dickens may have put it if he were alive today:-
Several reasons can be put forward:- poor climate, bad geography, perennial famines, water shortages, pervasive illiteracy, chronic diseases, smouldering conflicts, rampant corruption, dysfunctional government, economic mismanagement, weak institutions, a small middle class, tribalism, strangling bureaucracy, lack of property rights, dilapidated infrastructure (roads, ports, power, telecommunications), unpayable debts, trade barriers and miserly overseas development aid (ODA). And under the various headings (eg FOOD, WATER, HEALTH etc) just1WORLD considers these issues and discusses possible solutions. However, in RECOMMENDATIONS, we prioritise the main challenge facing the people of Africa and suggest a constructive plan of action which should give Africans, at long last, the chance to enjoy the basics of life that we in the North so often take for granted. For those in countries with seemingly endless conflicts this may be a long and difficult journey. But for others, through real incentives to governments to start working responsibly for all of their people coupled with a more constructive use of overseas aid, many of the world's poor could soon start to see a rapid improvement in their lives. * GNI per hd is basically the total of goods and services produced by a country plus income earned from overseas divided by the population of that country. **Euro Zone nations:- Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta. |
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On
the other side of the globe is the developing world - the 'South' -where
things could not be more different. In 2009 the GNI per head in the US
was $46,060 (£30,100) as against $370 (£240) per head in Niger,
in N. Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world where the desert
ravages what remains of fertile ground every year. Already Americans are
more than 125 times richer than people in Niger where life has barely
changed in centuries. 
24,000 PEOPLE DIE
FROM HUNGER yet there is enough food for everyone in the world; 
Former
U K prime minister, Tony Blair, has called the current condition of Africa
'a scar on the conscience of the world.' He is right. And in this modern
age of globalisation when man has never known a period of such creativity
and technological advancement, why have so many people in so many countries
been left behind?