Around the world over 780 million people live in extreme poverty and have less than $1.90 a day to spend. This is an amount that could never support a healthy lifestyle on any part of the globe. This terrifying statistic is the reality for a large portion of this considered lower resource countries. Without a sustainable income families and young children are forced into this reality. The devastating effects of malnutrition cannot be underestimated or overlooked. Lack of an established or consistent income leads to the 45% of children across the globe that dying due to chronic malnutrition (Ahmad, 2017).
Extremely malnourished children in Africa
It has also been determined that every single day 1,000 children under the age of five years old die from diarrheal diseases or cholera which are direct results of contamination of water and an overall lack of sanitation (Paulson, 2014). Children suffer the most when under these conditions as their bodies are not prepared to resist these attacks. It has been estimated that around 10% of children living with chronic malnutrition receive treatment for diarrheal diseases and cholera. That leaves a glaring 90% of children without any kind of treatment. This most likely ends in death for those children.
Lack of sanitation is a commonality in lower resource countries
Those born into poverty are automatically at a disadvantage. They suffer more and die younger. Good health contributes to overall wellbeing in a variety of ways, yet many living in poverty never get to experience the good. With good health comes an increase in labor productivity and financial consistency, as well as educational investment and attainment. As striking and negative as these facts and statistics seem, there is hope! Goals to improve these statistics have been moving towards achievement. More than one billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty since 1990. In 1990, more than half of low resource countries lived on $1.25 a day, but this dropped to 14% in 2015 (Ahmad, 2017). Organizations, nonprofits, and many other humanitarian groups are working to to improve these conditions and achieve real change. However, the need is still great. Many must also continue to support growth and service with time and money. The number of children, families, and individuals living in extreme poverty with rampant disease and hunger remains far too high.
Works Cited:
Ahmad, A., & Ahmad, A. (2017, February 27). Parents blame children malnutrition on poverty. Retrieved from http://healthreporters.info/parents-blame-children-malnutrition-on-poverty/.
Global Poverty And Hunger. (2019, September 5). Retrieved from https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/global-poverty-hunger-facts.
MDG 1: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. (2015, December 7). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/hunger/en/.
Paulson, T. (2014, March 19). The cure for global poverty: Health. Retrieved from http://www.humanosphere.org/basics/2014/03/the-cure-for-global-poverty-health/.
The State of Global Health 