WORLD LIVING STANDARDS

INTRODUCTION

UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI) RANKS COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO:GDP, Life Expectancy, Literacy

200 richest people in the world are as rich as 41% of the world combined.

INTRODUCTION

Worldwide, 800 million people living in developing countries are starving.

The world produces enough food to feed all the people on the earth an adequate diet.

SO WHY DON’T SOME PEOPLE EAT?

DEBT

How did these countries get into debt?

After WWII, the United Nations set up the IMF to provide loans to developing countries

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

After WWII, the United Nations set up the IMF to provide loans to developing countries

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

MONEY

Was spent on mega-projects.

These have been criticized for ruining the environment and doing little to help.

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

MONEY

Was spent on mega-projects.

These have been criticized for ruining the environment and doing little to help.

The World Bank is the greatest single source of funds for large dam construction, having provided more than US$50 billion (1992 dollars) for construction of more than 500 large dams in 92 countries. Their dams have been criticized for "extensive negative environmental impacts, destroying forests, wetlands, fisheries, habitat for threatened and endangered species, and increasing the spread of waterborne diseases." http://www.whirledbank.org/environment/dams.html

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

PAYING OFF THE DEBT

To pay off the loans, the World Bank encouraged some African governments to restructure their economies through the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP)

"The problem with taking a blood sample for your malaria test is that the cockroaches may eat it in the night," announced the nurse. "Ants are an even worse problem. The place is infested with them." Siavonga hospital, on the shores of Lake Karibe in southern Zambia, is suffering. "We have to put patients with TB in the same room as women who are giving birth," says one of the four Cuban doctors who battle to run the place. They also have to charge fees for their healthcare, and patients have to provide their own medicines, syringes and clean needles. What if they can't afford to pay? The doctor shrugs. "What do you think? They die." People are dying. Quietly, but in huge numbers, all over Zambia, lives are being wasted. Wasted not because of some accident of nature, but as a direct result of economic policies imposed by faceless Western planners. For over twenty years now the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been forcing Structural Adjustment Programmes on the bankrupt countries of Africa. Trapped between a near-religious belief in economic neo-liberalism and the US-driven interests of big business, these two institutions are blind to the havoc they are causing. Almost every country on the continent has succumbed to their prescription. And across Africa, the vultures are circling.

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

"The problem with taking a blood sample for your malaria test is that the cockroaches may eat it in the night," announced the nurse. "Ants are an even worse problem. The place is infested with them." Siavonga hospital, on the shores of Lake Karibe in southern Zambia, is suffering. "We have to put patients with TB in the same room as women who are giving birth," says one of the four Cuban doctors who battle to run the place. They also have to charge fees for their healthcare, and patients have to provide their own medicines, syringes and clean needles. What if they can't afford to pay? The doctor shrugs. "What do you think? They die." People are dying. Quietly, but in huge numbers, all over Zambia, lives are being wasted. Wasted not because of some accident of nature, but as a direct result of economic policies imposed by faceless Western planners. For over twenty years now the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been forcing Structural Adjustment Programmes on the bankrupt countries of Africa. Trapped between a near-religious belief in economic neo-liberalism and the US-driven interests of big business, these two institutions are blind to the havoc they are causing. Almost every country on the continent has succumbed to their prescription. And across Africa, the vultures are circling.

Only one in five people in Misisi are employed. The unemployed are part of an army of jobless, created when economists from the World Bank and IMF decided that Zambia's public sector was 'bloated' and that companies would benefit from the tonic of privatisation and an 'opening' of markets to international competition. The Zambian government boasts that it has the speediest privatisation programme in Africa. But half the companies sold out of the state sector are now bankrupt. Over 60,000 people have lost their jobs as a direct result of the economic liberalisation programme introduced after 1991. With many mouths dependent on one breadwinner, this has thrown an estimated 420,000 into destitution.

29 Oct 1999

"Africa's Hidden Killers"

Mark Lynas, Lusaka, Zambia

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

PAYING OFF THE DEBT

Eg. In the 1980s, the SAP asked Zambia to stop subsidizing food for Zambians. Thousands of Zambians lost their jobs.

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

Many people in developing countries have their resources controlled by MNC, and are essentially working for landlords (think of feudal Europe), selling crops at under-value.

The United States is the biggest shareholder in the IMF, holding nearly 18% in shares, and the IMF is generally considered a tool of the US Treasury.

IT WORKED LIKE THIS

Many people in developing countries have their resources controlled by MNC, and are essentially working for landlords (think of feudal Europe), selling crops at under-value.

The United States is the biggest shareholder in the IMF, holding nearly 18% in shares, and the IMF is generally considered a tool of the US Treasury.

SOLUTIONS?

PROBLEM: FOREIGN DEBT

-World Bank and IMF funded mega projects to “create jobs” in developing nations.

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

- FOUNDED AFTER WWII

-Role: create a stable monetary system after devastating war.

-During the 1950s and 60s, they lent money to Third World countries. In 1970s, recession in the West caused debt to go up in Third World.

-In order to get money, poor countries must submit to IMF rules. USA is biggest contributor to IMF.USA owns 20% of IMF.

IMF Top 10 Members:

USA 17%Japan 6%Germany 6%France 5%UK 5%China 4%Italy 4%Saudi Arabia 3%Canada 3%Russia 3%

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

-Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) tell Third World countries to restructure their economies in the following ways:

- Create CASH CROPS of primary goods

- coffee, cotton, rubber, cocoa, copper, tin.PROBLEM: WHAT IF THE PRICES OF THESE THINGS FALL?

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

-Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) told countries to sell their nationalized industries, usually to western corporations at discounted prices.

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

-Mega-projects are created to help “provide jobs.”

-They lead to problems with the environment, citizens forced to move.

- Corrupt governments take most of the money.

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

-Military dictators are supported (usually because they are not communist)

Photos of the disappeared in Argentina’s “Dirty War” (1970s)

HISTORY: FOREIGN DEBT

-Military dictators are supported (usually because they are not communist)

Brazil (1964-1979)

Augusto PinochetChile(1974-1990)Killed 2,279

Tortured 31,947

Exiled 1,312

-HIPC Agreement to reduce debt load Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was created following heavy lobbying from NGOs. These poor countries were given low interest loans to help them pay back their debts to sustainable levels.

SOLUTIONS: FOREIGN DEBT

-Debt reduction plan proposed by countries like Canada

-Debt forgiveness campaigned for by people like Bono.

-Bi-lateral aid in the form of GRANTS instead of LOANS.

-Allow countries to repay debts by investing in environmental or other sustainable projects in their own countries.

SOLUTIONS: FOREIGN DEBT

-TIED AID: Agreements like SAP.

Assistance given by one country to another that requires the receiving country to by goods and/or services from the donor country.

Benefits industrialized countries at the expense of the developing world.

PROBLEM: FOREIGN AID

-Switch to Multilateral aid

Developing countries receive help from a number of countries or organizations like the United Nations.

-Form national government agencies like CIDA.

-Form non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

SOLUTIONS: FOREIGN AID

SOLUTIONS: MNCs

Fair Trade Goods

Instead of Free trade goods

SOLUTIONS: DEBT

Countries can make cuts to spending to pay back debts

Or, Richer countries could FORGIVE the debts

PROBLEM: WOMEN HAVE LESS RIGHTS THAN MEN

Poverty creates different hardships for women and children than for men.

• Many developing countries have male-dominated societies.

PROBLEM: WOMEN HAVE LESS RIGHTS THAN MEN

Poverty creates different hardships for women and children than for men.

• Women have no legal rights.

• Women may be killed to satisfy a family’s honour.

• Women may face malnutrition from eating leftover food.

• 60% of women are malnourished in some areas… usually in drought-stricken remote areas.

•Female circumcision

PROBLEM: WOMEN HAVE LESS RIGHTS THAN MEN

Women may have to work as long as 12 hours per day.

Rate of literacy lower among women than men.* Three times as many girl children die as boys due to malnutrition or murder.* The literacy rate in India is 39% for women adn 64% for men illustrating the unequal educational opportunities.* Girls are still given less all occasions of food and health care than their male counterparts.* Female infanticide.* The killing of female foetus.

Average number of children per women in some areas is 7.4

Many families keep women home to look after the young children and help with chores.

More rights and freedom for women. (Problem: Who are we to tell other cultures what to think?)

Get rid of religious fundamentalism. Eg. France has banned hijab and head scarves. (Problem: This would spark religious wars).

UNICEF providing food aid and studying problem.

SOLUTIONS: WOMEN HAVE LESS RIGHTS OF MEN

SOLUTIONS: WOMEN HAVE LESS RIGHTS OF MEN

Increase literacy:- Educated women have less children.

- Women are primary educators of children.

PROBLEM: SEX TRADE AND UNSAFE SEX CAUSING AIDS

SOLUTIONS: USE PROTECTION, BAN or REGULATE SEX-TRADE MORE HOSPITALS FOR DISEASE

QUESTION:Should prostitution be legal?

PROBLEM: CHILDREN IN CRISIS

- Children catch diseases easier, such as:

Measles, malaria

PROBLEM: CHILDREN IN CRISIS

- Exploited child labour, sex trade

- High birth rates for the cycle continues.

- Malnutrition.

- Poor sanitation and water.

- Few educational opportunities.

Orphanage in India.

PROBLEM: CHILD LABOUR

-Child Labour: 1 of 6 or 7 children world-wide.

-School is expensive for families.

-Families need the money.

In 1998, after years of pressure, Nike increased their worker age minimum to 18.

(UNICEF)

-Increased pay: minimum wage

-Shorter working hours

-Condoms, abstinence

-Have child labour laws on an international level

-PROBLEMS: Capitalist society always wants cheaper goods.

SOLUTIONS: CHILD LABOUR

SOLUTIONS: CHILD SOLDIERS

-CHILD SOLDIERS

Children are kidnapped, druggedforced to fight in warsbrainwashed.

PROBLEM: CHILD SOLDIERS

-United Nations has banned militaryrecruitment under 18 years old.

PROBLEM: LACK OF CLEAN WATER

1.2 billion people lack clean water.

This number expected to double by 2025.

PROBLEM: LACK OF CLEAN WATER

80% of world’s diseases are from contaminated water.

E Coli was found in contaminated water in Ontario.

WHY?

- Rivers being used for human waste & pollution.

Eg. Yellow River in China

- Conserve Water

- Limit population growth

- Find new sources of clean water

- Don’t waste water.

SOLUTIONS: LACK OF DRINKING WATER

- Education of poorer populations:

eg. Don’t drink from rivers people bathe in.

- Build wells

- Grey water recycling

SOLUTIONS: LACK OF DRINKING WATER

- Shows the cycle of poverty:

Low economic opportunities

Low education opportunities

Low employment

- ¼ of northern plateau is too dry for farming

EXAMPLE: KENYA

- Less than ½ the population has access to drinking water.

EXAMPLE: KENYA

PROBLEM: WHAT STAGE OF POPULATION GROWTH IS KENYA IN?

- 30% of children are underweight.

- Thousands are infected with HIV/AIDS

-About 7% of adults are infected.

-In Canada, 0.02% of the population is infected.

EXAMPLE: KENYA

- In SHANTY TOWNS, people live in wood or cardboard homes with no electricity, running water, or sanitary systems.

EXAMPLE: KENYA

-In highland in the west people can produce tea and coffee for export and cut flowers to sell in Europe.

-Currently 37% of tropical grassland is used for grazing cattle.

-Many people have moved to cities for cheap labour.

SOLUTIONS: KENYA

PROBLEM: TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE WEST RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING THE PROBLEMS OF SOVEREIGN NATIONS LIKE KENYA?