A Newsweek special feature on global giving, "A Shot of Hope," (October 1, 2007; www.newsweek.com) offered these sobering facts...
Malnutrition and Hunger
In 2005, 31% of children in developing countries suffered from stunted growth due to malnutrition, which can cause a host of developmental disabilities. Such malnutrition is severe in South Asia where 45% of children under the age of 5 are underweight.
Infectious Diseases
Some 300 million to 500 million people are infected with malaria annually, and African children under 5 are 75% of those who die. Funding to fight malaria has increased, but as late as 2004, fewer than 5% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa slept under mosquito nets.
Education
Of the world's 78.1 illiterate adults, 64% are women. Their lack of education continually undermines their communities' levels of health care and economic stability. The World Bank reports "educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world."
Reproductive and Child Health
Childbirth is the leading killer of women in the developing world, and the risk of death related to pregnancy and birth in developing countries is 1 in 61; in the developed world it is 1 in 2,800.
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