Extreme Global Poverty ?

The numbers are staggering but are absolutely real. Behind each number is a human being: a mother, father, sister or brother. While ODW is not a religious organization, we are compelled by our faith and conviction that human life is sacred and precious. 3 billion people live on less than US$2/day. 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25/day - the definition of those who live under the condition of "extreme global poverty."

Consider the following:

* Approximately 9.2 million children under the age of 5 die each year, mostly from preventable diseases. That's approximately 25,000 children each day.
* 2.5 billion people around the world do not have access to adequate sanitation and about 885 million people do not have access to clean water.
* Every day, 4100 children die each day from severe diarrhea - as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene.
* Approximately 600 million children live in extreme poverty.
* Nearly 11,500 people die every day from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Nearly two-thirds of these people are living in sub-Saharan Africa.
* 75 million children are out of school around the world, a figure equivalent to the entire primary school-aged population in Europe and North America.

As a result to the Global Economic Recession, those living in extreme poverty have suffered the most. Recent increases in the price of food and oil have had a direct and adverse effect on communities that were struggling for survival even before the recession hit. The long-term effects of this recession are expected to potentially push millions more into extreme povery.

Global poverty facts:

* $1 challenge. More than 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day and more than 2 billion live on less than $2 a day.
* Check your assumptions. Americans believe that their government spends 24 percent of the federal budget on aid to poor countries, but the actual figure is less than 1 percent.
* Daily disasters. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria—all treatable diseases—claim the lives of over 8,000 people every day in Africa due to lack of access to health care.
* The water walk. Women in developing countries travel an average of almost four miles each day to collect water.
* The poor pay more. People living in the poorest slums can pay as much as ten times more for water than those in high-income areas of their own cities.
* Gender disparity. According to the U.N., the majority of people in poverty are women, who globally earn roughly half as much as men.
* Daily bread. Food prices have risen 83 percent since 2005, disproportionately affecting those in poverty who spend a higher percentage of their income on food.
* No school for you. In 2005, a conservative estimate stated that 72 million children around the world of elementary school age were not enrolled in school.
* The global wealth gap. The richest 20 percent of the world's population receives 75 percent of the world's income, while the poorest 40 percent receive only 5 percent of the world's income.