2. Poverty is strong
• Poverty's face is largely female and young. And
because of poverty, families and communities suffer
from malnutrition, illiteracy, violence and the spread of
HIV/AIDS.
• The World Bank estimates that more than a billion
people still eke out an existence on less than US$1 per
day. And, a 2005 United Nations Development Program
report showed growing inequality within and between
countries. Each day, over 30,000 children die from
malnutrition and preventable diseases.
• The biggest challenge of meeting the needs of those in
extreme poverty is mounting a campaign that adequately
matches the sheer magnitude of this global problem.
• Read on for the facts about poverty and some resources
you can use to learn more about the problem.
3. Percent of poverty for women
• Women
• 70% of the world's poor are women.
• Worldwide, women receive 30% to 40% less than their
male counterparts for comparable work.
• Between 80% and 90% of poor families are headed by
women.
• Women comprise two-thirds of the world's illiterate
population.
• Women in Southern Asia, Western Asia, and Northern
Africa hold only 20% of paying jobs outside agriculture.
4. Health
One in five children in the developing world does
not have access to safe water, and one in seven
has no access whatsoever to essential health
services.
• Every year eleven million children die -- most
under the age of five -- and more than six million
from completely preventable causes like
malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.
• Of these children, more than one in three
children does not have adequate shelter. Over
16% of children in developing world 10 under the
age of five lack adequate nutrition.
• 153 million children under 5 in the developing
world are underweight.
