Making a Difference in Poverty

In 2005, an estimated 18 million people died from poverty related causes. Fully one third of all human deaths could have been prevented by clean water, nourishing food, and access to basic medical care [7]. CORDIS, an international humanitarian organization, estimates that “the three major… diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis” are the main causes of deaths in third world countries [1]. Making up an estimated up about “80%” of all fatal illnesses, they are the main causes of death amongst the poor [5]. I will put an end to the diseases and sicknesses of poverty in developing countries. To make such an astronomic task possible, I will reach out to others for the assistance and involvement in maintaining sanitation in society, and pursue to emphasize the need of adequate health care that should be provided with their working conditions.

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As mentioned before, sanitation is one of the detrimental causes leading to diseases of poverty. It is alleged that “Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause an estimated 80 percent of all diseases in the developing world” because water is essential to every living beings diet as to the little girl on the picture above [8]. I for one am motivated to put an end to such a ridiculous cause. “Water-related illnesses, most of which are preventable, are among the leading causes of death and disease… [and] roughly 40 percent of the world’s population – lack access to adequate sanitation services” because they just do not have the necessary monetary means [8]. There should be no reason for us to leave litter behind, whether it be that cheeseburger wrapper you just got from McDonald’s or a precipitate that accumulates over time, such as run off from the high doses of pesticides we drench our crops with to appease our perfection-demanding consumers. I want to see individuals involved with their society’s well being as a daily occurrence, not just as a secondary priority. I want to see everybody cast away his or her own generated litter the correct way, and one day see the percentage of recyclable goods thrown into a landfill drop from 80 to 0 percent. In order to make such a miraculous task achievable we should break it into smaller, more manageable steps. I will advocate the impact of how important sanitation is and will take this to the next level by getting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involved. Before we head to the big stuff, I believe that if I can convince everyone to pick up at least a bag of trash every day, pollution earth will soon disappear completely. Lets assume that each bag of trash will account for a thousandth of a percent. If I were to pick up a single bag of trash everyday for a year, I will be able to decrease the pollution on earth, and thus increase the overall health of a region by approximately 0.36% annually. One person can barely make a staggering difference, but its when the general population gets involved does the wheel really start turning. In the picture below, an inmate at a Tennessee state penitentiary, and Gary Vowell, the local sheriff, work together to keep the planet a little cleaner. Together, we can make this happen. A trash bag a day will keep the pollution away as I would say. With the help of 3 people, we can decrease the effective percentage of unwanted litter by a full percent, so if the whole community joined in, we should have no problem achieving our desired standards in the next 10 years.

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[2]

Health care for one is immensely related to the diseases of poverty. I know there is no way I can single handedly put this problem away and battle it off with the various tiers of judicial estates that are associated, but I know I can start small like joining the Peace Corps. With the help of the Peace Corps, avocation will be taken to the next step because I have a whole family of people that I can depend on for help, which will let me answer the question given by the image to the right. Yes, there is a cure for health care; we all have to work together. If a one advocator for better healthcare will make a difference, then a whole group of individuals trying to attain the same obtainable cause will make an immense impact. Even though the fight will be tough, I absolutely will not stop until every individual in developing countries is receiving the satisfactory health care they deserve. I wanted to make this happen in the next 5 years, but I know this will be impossible because of the monetary factor in the developing country’s governments. To make such a task possible, I, once again will advocate help from others. Something as simple as organizing a charity fund will allow the already developed countries like America to give a helping hand to the developing countries in need. “2% of people … hold 90% of the world’s wealth” and these people are usually in developed countries [4]. If these organized charities work out and say we collect a bare minimum of at least a thousand dollars a day from all over the world, by 3 years, around a million dollars will be accumulated, and by 30 years, it will be 10 million. In developing countries, such as Somalia, this sum is substantial and will impact many lives. It will cost the government an estimate of “$2.4 trillion” per year for health care, according to New York Times Magazine [3]. Even though this amount will only account for a hundredth thousandth of a percent every 30 years, my goal before my life ends is to try to the best of my ability and work above the standards to help attain enough to decrease the number of unvaccinated people by 1 percent. That’s just one person advocating for the cause. Once I get more people to lend a helping hand by donating small amounts of time or effort, such has making a website or holding a bake sale, a feat might be accomplished within my lifetime.

 Since “the pharmaceutical industry has invested almost nothing in research and development for these diseases,” I will make an impact by becoming a pharmacist within the next 6 years in the Pharm. D Program provided at The University of Texas at Austin [9]. Even though I know the science and math classes required for such a program will sometimes require motivation, I will be persistent at what I do because of how I was raised. Once I start a task, I always finish it, no matter what. Additionally, I want to become a pharmacist and am already motivated to do so for the betterment of my family’s future. Reading and writing are vital to my goals, because they are important mediums that send messages to other individuals, affecting them strongly by pathos or ethos, or simply straight up logic by logos. As part of my journey in life, I will have to learn many skills. My UGS writing course with Professor Bump will help me learn how to persuade readers in the timeless and elegant way that only the written word seems to hold.

Word count without quotations: 1,107

Word count with quotations: 1,210

Endnotes

[1] CORDIS. "Confronting the Major Communicable Diseases Linked to Poverty." February 03, 2010. http://cordis.europa.eu/lifescihealth/diseases/home.htm#top (accessed October 13, 2010).

[2] Denoto, Matt. "To Your Health." June 16, 2009. http://thegoldenspiral.org/tag/green-revolution/ (accessed October 15, 2010).

[3] Leonhardt, David. "How Much Does Health Care Cost You?." July 21, 2009. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/how-much-does-health-care-cost-you/ (accessed October 14, 2010).

[4] Mind Body N Soul. "Two Percent Own Half the Worlds Wealth." http://www.mindbodynsoul.com/Mind-Power/two-percent-own-half-the-worlds-wealth.html (accessed October 14, 2010).

[5] Nicholas Eberstadt, The Poverty of "The Poverty Rate" (Washington, DC: The AEI Press, 2008), 78.

[6] Pattison, Neal. "2002 Drug Industry Profits: Hefty Pharmaceutical Company Margins Dwarf Other Industries." 2003.http://citizen.org/documents/Pharma_report.pdf (accessed October 13, 2010).

[7] Pogge, Thomas. "World Poverty and Human Rights." March 30, 2005. http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/journal/19_1/symposium/5109/html (accessed October 14, 2010).

[8] Sparks, Charissa. "Reducing Poverty Through Water and Sanitation." October 3, 2010. http://mediaglobal.org/article/2010-10-03/reducing_poverty_through_water_and_sanitation (accessed October 15, 2010).

[9] Stevens, Philip. "Diseases of Poverty and the 10/90 Gap." November, 2004. http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/submissions/InternationalPolicyNetwork.pdf (accessed October 13, 2010).

[10] Tift's Sheriffs. "Operation Clean Sweep A Clean Success." August 20, 2006. http://www.tiftsheriff.net/News/news2006.htm (accessed October 15, 2010).