Human health is a key issue in the developing world. Many people are suffering from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Tracking and improving the health of many people around the world is one of the most important things we can do to help reduce global poverty. If people are healthier and more able, they can participate in activities which helps provide them options for the future. So, below are a few resources which better discuss health issues from around the world, as well as the Millennium Development Goals.
1) Health Map. This fantastic little resource is not ours, but we thought we would mention it anyway as it offers a lot of really relevant information, in a very clever way. The site is Health Map, found here at http://www.healthmap.org/en.
The site tracks the latest news reports about illnesses and disease from various parties around the world, including the World Health Organisation, Google News and The International Society for Infectious Diseases. It then mashes them up with google maps to present a snap-shot of infectious disease and illness updates from around the world. This is quite important, when you consider that many of the worlds poor are facing a numerous number of health issues, many of which are curable in the western world.
From the UNDP MDG site
2) The Millenium Development Goals, a set of objectives for the world to aim for to aid the alleviation of Global Poverty, outline just how important the cure of illness and disease is. 3 of the 7 goals are focused on health – Goal 4,5 and 6. (Reduce Child Mortality, Improve Maternal Health and Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases.) You can track different countries progress towards the MDG’s here, at the MDG Monitor. This is another great map tool, which you can use to cut data to see the progress of every country in the world towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
3) HIV/AIDS is a massive problem in the developing world. Check out this video above, from our Stir YouTube channel, which better tells the story of two young girls living with the disease. You can also find it in our video section. If you’re interested in posting about HIV/AIDS in your post on the 15th, why not investigate some of the links above and see how you can speak out about it.
Filed under: Health, Poverty, Steve Hopkins
