Poverty Population & Development

3 billion of the world's people (one-half) live in 'poverty' (living on less than $2 per day). 1.3 billion people live in 'absolute' or 'extreme poverty' (living on less than $1 per day).

800 million people lack access to basic healthcare. 17 million people, including 11 million children, die every year from easily preventable diseases and malnutrition.

800 million people are hungry or malnourished. Nearly 160 million children are malnourished worldwide. 11 million people die every year from hunger and malnutrition.

2.4 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. 1.1 billion do not have safe drinking water. By 2025, at least 3.5 billion people or nearly 2/3rd's of the world's population will face water scarcity. More than 2.2 million people, mostly children, die each year from water related diseases.

275 million children never attend or complete primary school education. 870 million of the world's adults are illiterate.

3 million people die every year from HIV/AIDS. Approximately 25 million people have died from AIDS in the last 20 years. 70 million will die from AIDS by 2020. 40 million people are currently infected with HIV/AIDS, who will die within 10 years. 13 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS since the epidemic began, and the number is expected to double to 26 million by 2010.

Over 100 million people live in slums. An estimated 25 to 50 percent of urban inhabitants in poor, developing countries live in impoverished slums and squatter settlements.

The richest 1% of the world's people earned as much income as the bottom 57% (2.7 billion people). The top 5% of the world's people earn more income than the bottom 80%. The top 10% of the world's people earn as much income as the bottom 90%. The richest 16% of the world's population receives 84% of the world's annual income.

The wealth of the world's 7.1 million millionaires ($27 trillion) equals the total combined annual income of the entire planet. The combined wealth of the world's richest 300 individuals is equal to the total annual income of 45% of the world's population. The world's 3 wealthiest families have a combined wealth equal to the annual income of 600 million of the world's people. The wealthiest one-fifth of the world's population receive an average income that is 75 times greater than the poorest one-fifth.

Poor countries (which contain 4/5th's of the world's people) pay the rich countries an estimated nine times more in debt repayments than they receive in aid. Africa alone spends four times more on repaying its debts than it spends on health care. In 1997 the foreign debts of poor countries were more than $2 trillion and growing. The result is a debt of $400 for every person in the developing world - where average annual income in the very poorest countries is less than a dollar a day.

By Reality 16 October 05

Related:

The clock is ticking: Aboriginal Leaders
Aboriginal leaders say only immediate action will remedy the appalling state of remote communities in the Northern Territory, writes.

Poverty cycle must be addressed: Ridgeway
The Democrats' Aden Ridgeway says Prime Minister John Howard should stop beating up on people who are on welfare, and focus on solving the national Indigenous unemployment rate.

Galloway: Cry for social change
"The only way to make poverty history is to make the G8 history.(snip) Some of the most dangerous men in the world are in Gleneagles Hotel this week. They are responsible not only for the renewed and terrifying drive to war that characterises the start of the 21st century. They also preside over a system that is itself the biggest killer in the world.(snip)

Malnutrition strikes 1 in 3 Africans: UN
One in three Africans suffers from malnutrition and a total of 852 million people in the world suffer from hunger, the United Nations says in a new report.

Annan urges UN members to 'make poverty history'
World governments must embrace a broad strategy ranging from trade and debt forgiveness to handing out mosquito netting to "make poverty history", United Nations chief Kofi Annan says.

Kenya faces hunger crisis
The United Nations is appealing for help for up to 2 million people facing hunger in Kenya.

Health catastrophe looms in Sudan: UN
A malnourished Sudanese refugee child lies at a feeding centre in Iriba Town in Chad.

UN estimate of Darfur deaths soars to 180,000
More than 180,000 people have died in Sudan's conflict stricken Darfur region over the past 18 months, UN humanitarian affairs chief Jan Egeland says. The United Nations had previously estimated about 70,000 dead from the fighting, disease and malnutrition linked to the Darfur conflict.

PUT COMMUNITIES FIRST

Act now to block the VSU bill

In the next two weeks the Howard Government wants to pass a law that will drastically cut services on university campuses around the country -- services used by the whole community, like childcare, health services and sporting facilities.

It's not too late to take action. Some Howard Government members are mounting a last minute effort to block the voluntary student unionism (VSU) bill before it becomes law. These MPs need to know they are not alone.

Sign the letter of support to ask these parliamentarians to stay strong and block this bill. To back up the letter GetUp has also produced a television ad asking MPs to vote against this radical bill. This ad is already on air in Lismore and Townsville.

Sign the letter now! We have 10 signatures.

Dear: Greg Hunt MP, Ian Causley MP, Kay Hull MP, Paul Neville MP, Peter Lindsay MP, Senator Alan Eggleston, Senator Barnaby Joyce, Senator Fiona Nash, Senator Nigel Scullion and Senator Russell Trood

The Government's VSU bill will attack services in local communities across the country. We urge you to stay strong and block this bill. Thousands of Australians are behind you.

Photo: Australian Greens

Voluntary student unionism: SA UTS

What Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) basically means is that students will have the choice about whether they pay their membership to the Students Association. The rhetoric behind this argument is based in some ideal of choice, where the Liberal Government argues that students should exercise their freedom of association and therefore should be able to have the right to choose whether they want to join the student organisation on campus.

This rhetoric of freedom of choice is a farce as a university that does not have equitable access or sufficient resources effectively decrease students' choices. The Students Association is the only space on campus where students can defend their rights independently of the whims of the university management. Having such an organisation provides students with choices, as without this we would not have the ability fight for campus conditions and regressive government policies, which directly inhibit students ability to access higher education and other social "privileges".

What would life be with VSU?

If students had the choice over whether or not to join, student organisations would be dramatically under-funded and the kind of work that we are able to do know, like provide an active voice for students to voice their dissent, would be obsolete. The fact is, the small membership fee, in practical terms, is nothing compared to what you would be paying to the university administration if student organisations did not exist. Through the Students Association, students ran a campaign against the proposal of UTS management to introduce upfront fees for undergraduate students. Students won the campaign, with management forced to back down with a student occupation. Through the Students Association, women, queer and ethno-cultural students are provided with a space through which they can fight the discrimination they face through society.

It may seem that having choice about your membership of a Student's Association is a good thing but in reality, having voluntary membership actually inhibits the choices of others, including access to university and the quality of education we receive.

Without student organisations to actively fight government attacks on higher education, students, and the community, would not be able to resource a voice of dissent against regressive policies. All government funding cuts to universities would proceed with hardly any dissent. The privatisation of university, while existing very concretely today, would be in full bloom. Universities would probably be more heavily privatised. This is not to say that such phenomenon does not exist widely today, but the deterioration of government funded education would be occurring probably more quickly and broadly, and worse still, without no dissent being voiced about it.

Further, student organisations do not exist in a vacuum, just as the funding cuts do not occur in a vacuum. While we fight for real gains on a campus level, we also understand that cuts to campus occur concurrently to cuts to other social sectors as health, and women's organisations. Fighting for gains on the campus level always occurs with an understanding of the regressive policies that are part of the wider ideology of the Liberal Government. Therefore, when we argue for a better quality education we also argue for an end to sexual harassment on and off campus, for the rights of indigenous people and the rights of queer people. Discrimination that occurs off campus also occurs on campus, as UTS is not an institution existing in isolation from the rest of society.

The Students Association is more than an active and open organisation that fights for campus conditions. Further, it is the only independent space on campus that can act as a student voice. For example, academic appeals are an important function of the Students Association whereby we try to fight for students' rights in their degrees.

How do you get involved in the Students' Association?

Having an active Students Association on campus, with maximum involvement of all students means that we can grow stronger and make real gains at a campus and societal level. Getting involved is easy, you can come along to a collective meeting, or drop by in the office and say hi.

''Voluntary Student Unionism''

As university students across Australia begin classes this week, they will find out that practically everything at university other than their lectures may not exist by the end of the year. From academic advocacy and support, childcare and health services, to food outlets and sporting teams, university life as we know it is under threat.

The Greens Position:

The Greens believe a responsible government should foster a strong, vibrant, top-quality public education system that is fee free from preschool to university.

Public Education

Now that the Howard government has been re-elected, we must all do what we can do oppose attacks on public education and higher education.

Kerry has spoken frequently in parliament defending public schools and universities.

The Greens

GetUp!
Action for Australia

So you better:

Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up!) Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights!) Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight! (don't give it up, don't give it up!) Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up!) Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... ) Don't give up the fight!
(get up, stand up!) Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight!

Related Audio:



By GetUp! 24 August 2005

Cover the Uninsured Week

When Medicare doesn't Care! It seems people who cannot afford health care will now be on death row if they can't afford to pay their medical bills?

Dear Friends in Faith?

Thank you for your support of Cover the Uninsured Week and commitment to Americans living without health care coverage. At this time, more than 120 organizations, faith communities, partners and friends have signed on to support the campaign. Please visit Cover The Uninsured Week.org involved for a complete list of who is involved this year.

Included in this week's e-mail:

1. Save the Date! National Launch Event
2. Event Planning Center and Resources
3. National Day of Prayer, May 5, 2005
4. Cover the Uninsured Week Web Button

1. Save the Date! National Launch Event
This year's national launch event will be held on April 27, 2005, in Washington, DC. You can watch the National Launch Event from your computer. Visit Cover The Uninsured Week.org on April 27, 2005 for instructions on how to view the Web cast!

2. Event Planning Center and Resources
If you or anyone in your faith community is planning Cover the Uninsured Week activities, we encourage you to visit the Event Planning Center at http://plan.CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org to publicize your events, send invitations and download and order free planning guides and other materials, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim prayers and study guides. You can find these and other faith based materials at Cover The Uninsured Week/interfaith In addition, Cover the Uninsured Week campaign staff are available to assist you in planning an activity in your community. Visit Cover The Uninsured Week/field for a contact list of campaign staff across the country.

3. National Day of Prayer, May 5, 2005
If you are involved in an interfaith activity on the National Day of Prayer, May 5, 2005, consider including Cover the Uninsured Week handouts and materials at your event. Visit Cover The Uninsured Week/materials to order free Cover the Uninsured Week posters, stickers, fliers, and more.

4. Cover the Uninsured Week Web Buttons
Visit Cover The Uninsured Week/distribution/participants for instructions on posting a Cover the Uninsured Week Web button on your congregation or faith community Web site. (A Web button is a graphic logo/element that links directly to a Web site.) Posting a Web button or the Cover the Uninsured Week Web address is a great way to let your community know about your involvement in a campaign to ensure health care coverage for all Americans!

Thank you for your ongoing support of Cover the Uninsured Week and commitment to Americans living without health care coverage. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Sally Kurtz at (202) 572-2848 or sally.kurtz@gmmb.com.

By Sally Kurtz and Just Us 18 April 05

Ed: All the way with the USA: Cover the Uninsured Week? That's what happened when the Neo-Liberal fascist party lied to us about Medicare. Now we have to fork it or walk it? There is an old bush saying, 'that you can take a sheep if you're hungry but you must leave the pelt on the farmers fence'. That as well as stealing hubcaps for a living seems likely to become good options for the poor and underprivileged when HoWARd takes over the Senate in July. Tony Abbott must stand down Now!

Related:

Dismantle the war machine, slash taxes, privatisation and keep social services Slash taxes and end welfare state [social services state], report urges? Dismantle the War Machine not Welfare [Social Services]!

AMA slams major parties over Indigenous health
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says Indigenous health standards will continue to be as poor as some third world countries, because the nation's major political parties are not serious about fixing the problem.

Potent strike into Howard's heartland before it's too late!
HOPE, urgency and Medicare Gold constitute Mark Latham's now formidable assault on The Lodge. In his first campaign launch Latham has unveiled a mega-initiative -- free hospital treatment, public or private, for all Australians aged 75 and over.

Govt urged to restructure Medicare
The Institute of Health Economics and Technology Assessment says raising taxes alone is not a sustainable way to finance a health system, particularly as Australia's population ages.

Protesters arrested during PM's Tas visit
Inside he addressed a community morning tea and talked of the benefits of Australia's free trade agreement with the United States and reiterated his commitment to the Government's Medicare reforms.

AMA calls for extra health funding for Aborigines

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is asking for an extra $450 million a year to be spent on the health needs of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.

The call comes in a report to be released today.

The study by Access Economics shows it would cost $400 million a year to meet the primary health care needs of Indigenous Australians alone.

AMA president Dr Bill Glasson says the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is on a par with some developing countries and improvements are desperately needed.

"We have got a chasm of people dying young, dying of renal disease, heart disease, lung disease, a whole range of systemic diseases that are killing these people," he said.

The report recommends around 900 extra health professionals are needed to provide the services - at a cost of $36 million a year.

The AMA is also asking the Government for fully-funded training places to increase the proportion of Indigenous Australians working in health care.

By AMA 12 August 04

Related:

WA bid to recognise 'original custodians' stalls Western Australia's Opposition has rejected a Government proposal to amend the state's Constitution to recognise Aboriginal people as the original custodians of the state.

Labor to request Senate inquiry into ATSIC's future
The Federal Opposition has announced it will call for a Senate inquiry into the Government's plan to abolish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

Reconciliation dreaming
Djerrkura had witnessed the collapse of ATSIC, which he led from 1996 to 1999, with sadness. Despite the peak indigenous organisation's flaws, which he did not deny, its abolition, he said, had been done in "the classic imperial fashion, without negotiation, without understanding and with little empathy". He noted that as early as December 2001 he had called on his successor Geoff Clark to resign for the good of the organisation. But he reserved his harshest words for John Howard.

The bone has been pointed at Howard
A Queensland Indigenous leader says an ancient Aboriginal curse placed on Prime Minister John Howard is no laughing matter and could even have deadly consequences.Suspended Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner (ATSIC) chairman Geoff Clark was with a group of Aboriginal people who performed a ceremony known as pointing the bone at Howard at Colac in south-west Victoria this week.

PM in denial over Redfern Death in Custody
Prime Minister John Howard says treating Aborigines differently is contributing to violent confrontations with police.

INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT: ISJA
If we want to survive we must work at it Indigenous unemployment reaching crisis: welfare group Action to lower Indigenous unemployment rate Govt underspends on indigenous employment: dept Economic development: The outback malaise Call for end to Indigenous welfare cycle.

Australian Govt human rights record 'worsening'
Community groups have given the Federal Government five out of ten for its record on human rights this year. Mr Purcell said the Government was also marked down because of the policy of holding children in immigration detention centres.

O'Shane blasts constitution
Controversial New South Wales magistrate Pat O'shane has described the Australian Constitution as flawed and grossly inappropriate.

Demounting Auntie Isabel Coe
The information demountable and Auntie Isabel Coe's demountable were set alight at 3am last Saturday morning. The info demountable was completely destroyed- 31 years of photos and info on the grassroots Indigenous rights movement destroyed! Wilson Tukey (FUCKER)has wanted any excuse to get rid of the embassy for ages. This week he has been using the excuse that the burnt out shell is a danger to the community therefore the embassy must be removed.