Thursday, October 29, 2009

Today, over 25,000 children died around the world

Doing some research on poverty issues... came across an article from March.

Over 25,000 children die every day around the world.
That is equivalent to:
  • 1 child dying every 3.5 seconds
  • 17-18 children dying every minute
  • A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 1.5 weeks
  • An Iraq-scale death toll every 16–38 days
  • Over 9 million children dying every year
  • Some 70 million children dying between 2000 and 2007

The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.
The continuation of this suffering and loss of life contravenes the natural human instinct to help in times of disaster. Imagine the horror of the world if a major earthquake were to occur and people stood by and watched without assisting the survivors! Yet every day, the equivalent of a major earthquake killing over 30,000 young children occurs to a disturbingly muted response. They 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. - A spotty scorecard, UNICEF, Progress of Nations 2000

Rest of article: http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-over-25000-children-died-around-the-world

THIS IS NOT OK.  How can we sit here and eat, drink, play?  I ask myself that as I comfortably sip my coffee in what could be described as a luxurious coffee shop (Cosi's) in downtown Philadelphia...

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