Here are 10 facts about global development you may not be aware of:

1. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die every day from poverty.

2. Water and sanitation problems affect more than half of the world’s population. In developing countries, 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water, and 1.4 million children die every year from a lack of access to safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation.

3. Infectious diseases are still a significant killer in poor countries around the world. It is estimated that 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Every year, around 500 million cases of malaria are reported and 1 million end fatally. Malaria is most prevalent in Africa, where 90 percent of malaria deaths occur and 80 percent of child victims worldwide live.

4. About 28 percent of children living in developing countries are considered underweight or stunted. Due to the current situations, the Millennium Development Goals‘ target of decreasing the number of underweight children by 50 percent will be missed by 30 million children. The main regions that are struggling with malnourishment are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

5. School enrollment rates around the world continue to be low. About 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled, and more than 226 million children do not attend secondary school.

6. Child marriage is a serious problem around the world; approximately 39,000 girls become child brides every day. Ending child marriage is likely to be a priority in the post-2015 goals.

7. Deaths of children under the age of five have decreased significantly over the past 25 years, but high rates still exist in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. According to data from the U.N., India alone accounts for 22 percent of all under-five aged deaths.
8. Approximately 842 million people around the world suffer from chronic hunger. Hunger kills more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.

9. Numbers from 2011 indicate that more than 19 million children around the world have not been vaccinated.

10. New research has shown that at least 20 percent of aid money is never delivered to developing countries. In 2011, $100 billion was pledged as official development aid, but at least $22 billion was never transferred to those countries.

– Hannah Cleveland 

Sources: Global Issues, Impatient Optimists, USAID, DoSomething.org, Global Issues
Photo: FungGLobalInstitute