By the Numbers

• $1 FACTS
• $1.00 provides ONE YEAR of CLEAN WATER for an African.
• $1.00 VACCINATES an AFRICAN CHILD FOR LIFE against measles.
• One child dies of measles every minute in Africa.

What's Happening? 

AIDS
 
AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, having killed more than twenty five million people. AIDS claims the lives of about six thousand people a day in Africa.

AIDS Orphans 

Twelve million children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both parents to AIDS.  Many African countries have created policies to serve these orphans.  The Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) are a great example of help in this area. They train twelve to seventeen year olds in agriculture, while also educating them on HIV prevention.

POVERTY

More than one billion people in the world live on less than $1 a day - half of Africa lives on less than $1 a day.  Over one billion people in the world cannot access clean water.  A child dies every five seconds from a disease associated with this dilemma.  Both healthcare professionals and teachers need to be retained in poor African countries, particularly in rural areas.  More people need to be trained in these areas, and better incentives need to be offered to pursue these fields in the countries with the greatest needs.

EDUCATION

Over one hundred million children throughout the world are not receiving a primary education and over half of these are girls.  Financially investing in education is believed to be one of the most effective means of not only lessening poverty, but also reducing the spread of the AIDS virus.
 
 “Abolition of fees opens the doors to marginalized and excluded children.  Given the importance of schooling for every child in a world with HIV and AIDS, the abolition of school fees is clearly of the highest priority for all children affected by the pandemic.”

In Uganda, a child who quits attending school is three times more likely to be HIV positive later on in life than a child who completes basic education.

What's Happening to Help? 

THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
 
189 countries endorsed the following goals in September 2000, in an effort to nullify extreme poverty throughout the world by 2015:

1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2) Achieve universal primary education
3) Promote gender equality and empower women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Develop a global partnership for development