A world void of poverty? Sounds like a nice utopian dream, but researchers at the United Nations claim it?s an achievable reality.
A recent study by Jeffrey Sachs at the United Nations reported that if the world?s richest nations more than doubled aid to the poorest countries, global poverty could be cut in half by 2015 and eliminated by 2025.
Think about it. If 22 of the richest countries donate twice the amount they normally give, 500 million people can escape poverty, and millions of lives can be saved in the next decade. By 2025, extreme poverty can be virtually eliminated. It?s a ray of hope among war-ravaged communities, devastating natural disasters and corrupt governments. Some disturbing circumstances can be cured.
Currently, 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day and 850 million go to bed hungry.
Nations can help these ?silent tsunamis,? as Sachs so eloquently terms the daily catastrophes that unnoticeably occur throughout the world, by giving 0.5 percent of their combined gross domestic product to aid international development. In 1970, the world?s nations stated they would give 0.7 percent, but so far, that goal has yet to be met, and now the United Nations is asking those nations to give less than their promised donation.
Does that mean cutting the spending on war in Iraq a few billion dollars and instead using the money to buy mosquito nets so that 150,000 African children can live?
After the disaster in Asia (and international criticism), aid for the 11 devastated countries surged and proved that as individual countries the money is available to unite and bring hope to less fortunate nations.
And, some may argue the United States gives too much. Every nation with need extends a hand to ou r government. The United States ranks at the top of international aid assistance, but more can be done. Every country, not just the United States, is responsible to impart of its substance to the poor. And as long as people are suffering, why not provide the means to accomplish the goal in 2015 ? 30 million children are saved who would otherwise die by their fifth birthday.
But what about self-reliance? Of course, if we want to permanently end poverty, self-reliance is a necessity in the international approach. But how can self-reliance be taught children when they don?t have the money or the means to obtain the basics to survive?
The report is not a strict criticism of wealthy countries ? United States, Japan and Germany ? but a reminder that silent tsunamis occur every day throughout the world, and sadly, world aid needs to be a top priority on the international agenda.