day 29 - "how the other half lives" (Thursday's post)

“Long ago it was said that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives." That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter. Information on the subject has been accumulating rapidly since, and the whole world has had its hands full answering for its old ignorance.”

                                                                                                              -How the Other Half Lives

“How the Other Half Lives” – Jacob Riis’ muckraking novel from the Progressive Era. It portrayed the contrast between the opulent lifestyles of the wealthy and the barely-surviving poor. Though it was written about the people living in New York’s slums, the message today remains the same: There is a wide gap between our lives and those in developing nations.

A way to measure equality between the ends of the income spectrum within a country is through the Gini coefficient, which is based on the Lorenz curve (a tool used to show income distribution). The closer the Gini coefficient is to 0, there is less of a gap between the rich and poor; the closer it is to 100 (or 1, if expressed as a decimal), the greater the inequality. To give you an idea: According to the Global Peace Index,  the Gini coefficient for the United States in 2011 was 40.8%; China, 41.5%, Zambia, 50.7%; South Africa, 57.8%, Afghanistan, 60%; and Namibia, 74.3%.

Another way to examine global inequality is by looking at the number of people living below the poverty line, which has been determined as $1.25 a day. And according to the World Bank, 1,289,000,000 people live on less than this amount. Can you believe that? That hardly seems enough for a single meal – let alone food to feed a family, plus costs incurred for fuel, medicine, and education. Here is a visual from the World Bank showing the percentage of people living on $1.25 a day or less: Visualize poverty.

Even more than how the other half lives with regard to poverty levels and disparities between standards of living, let’s consider another half of the population: That of women in developing countries.

According to the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), “a pregnant woman in Africa is 180 times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than in Western Europe”. Women spend a total of 40 billion hours collecting water (United Nations). In 2009, the literacy rate for females in Sub-Saharan Africa was 67.2% (World Bank).

Compare this to women’s living standard in the United States. Women have a only a 24/100,000 chance of dying in childbirth due to access to hospitals and health professionals. We are able to spend our time in school or at work instead of walking hours to collect water. (We are so fortunate to have access to clean water, too: Check out this video from Charitywater.) And because we can go to school, we can read, which is a tool of empowerment in itself.

The United Nations describes of mortality for children under five years of age, “Children of mothers with no education in the Latin America and Caribbean region are 3.1 times more likely to die than those with mothers who have secondary or tertiary education and 1.6 times more likely to die than those whose mothers have primary education”. We’re talking statistics, and the numbers definitely show that an education really has an impact on women’s lives.

An education can help reduce global poverty levels, as well as gender inequality. The United Nations writes, “literacy and education can be powerful tools for empowering rural women and fighting poverty and hunger [because] women who are educated are more likely to be healthy, generate higher incomes, and have greater decision-making power within their households.” And USAID estimates that if every child received a basic education and reading skills, “there would be a 12% drop in global poverty”.

It’s one thing to know how the other half lives; but it’s another to do something to ameliorate their condition. We may be perfectly content living our lives - "out of sight, out of mind" - but ignoring the issue will not make it go away. This is a current problem that desperately needs our attention, and one that can be improved through providing education.

Please consider making a charitable donation to the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) at the link “Donate” on the right side of the page to help provide women with an education in rural Africa.

Janna