Bookmarks on MDGs
or
How to get development education into books which our target group likes to read
Centre
Bookmark 1
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Question: Do you know how much you could eat for one dollar in Bolivia ?
Answer: Is one dollar much or not? ‘Boliviano’ currency (BOB) is what is used in Bolivia. One US dollar is about seven Boliviano. What can you buy with it? Two liters of fuel, a scoop of ice cream, a pineapple, a 620ml beer can and 2 litres of water.
Extreme poverty begins when you have less than one dollar equivalence to survive for one day.
Currently, we have 1.2 billion people living below the $1/day level. It is around 18% of the total human population.
To compare – there are about 0.73 billion people living in Europe, which is around 11% of the total human population.
Bookmark 2
MDG 2: Achieve universal primary school education
Question: Do you know who you would have become, if you had not graduated from university?
Answer: Most probably you would have real problems looking for a job. But, do people in developing countries study at all? If you type into Polish Google ‘studies in Angola’, the web browser will ask you if you meant ‘studies in England’ (‘Angola’ and ‘Anglia’ are similar words in Polish). Developing countries have real difficulties with basic education, so it is hard to expect well-organised high school education. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 shows significant growth in basic education availability on a global scale. The general primary school education index for developing countries was 89%. This is a good result if we compare it to 1999, when primary school was attended only by 82% of entitled.
Bookmark 3
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Question: Are you a woman? Check in which countries you would not have a chance to be promoted?
Answer: Women were only 8% of all parliamentarians in Ghana, Kuwait, Libya and Algeria in 2010. To compare – in South Africa, Sweden and Holland almost half of all deputies were women. In 2008, parliaments of eastern and northern Africa engaged only 8% of women, in developed countries the index was 26%.
Bookmark 4
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
Question: How many Ethiopian children will die from incurable diseases before you will click on this link?
Answer: Every hour about 15 children die in Ethiopia. It is equal to half of a school class or kindergarden group, so it is a huge amount for just one country. Mostly, it could be solved by basic, simple medical care, which is still a problem for African countries.
Bookmark 5
MDG 5: Improve maternal health
Question: What is the amount of the newborn allowance in India? Click and check!
Answer: In 2009 the Indian government assigned $45/citizen for medical care. The same year in Poland the government assigned $804/person for medical care.
In 2007, the Khasi tribal council in Meghalaya state decided to introduce benefits for mothers.
It was intended for women having at least 12 children. The tribal council was afraid of immigrants, and wanted to develop their own nation. The council assigned about five thousand rupee (?$120) for every woman having more than 15 children.
Bookmark 6
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Question: Are you going on holiday? Have you got a mosquito net?
Answer: Every 30 seconds malaria kills one African child. That means 3000 children every day. Every year about one million people die because of malaria. Mosquito curtains are a very simple and effective way to prevent mosquito bites, which is the most common way of spreading malaria. Using mosquito curtains, we could reduce 20% of malaria child mortality. A mosquito curtain costs less than 50 zloty ($15), and it can save life.
Bookmark 7
MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Question: Could we drink tap water in Krakow?
Answer: If you are very thirsty, you don’t have to look for a nearby store. You can use the tap water at home. But it is a comfort unavailable for 1/6 of the human population. In countries like Sudan, drinkable water has the value of gold. Sometimes people have to walk hours to get some water, which is commonly of poor quality. The group in most danger to sicknesses caused by contaminated water are children.
Bookmark 8
MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Question: Do you know what you could buy in a shopping centre in Zambia?
Answer: There are two shopping centres In Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city - Manda Hill and Arcadia. Goods are mostly imported from South Africa. Before those shopping centers were built, the main trade center in Lusaka was Cairo Road. Its decor was rather different from clean, modern shopping centres. It was filled with street peddlers, and finding specific products was very hard. Shopping centers Manda Hill and Arcadia are very similar to those in Europe, as they have the same design and chain stores. In Manda Hill you can buy everything. There are banks, bookstores, clothes shops, fast food, and a huge shop called ‘Shoprite’. Obviously, it is a capital city, and there are no places like this outside the city. The most popular trade places in Zambia are still traditional markets, where the most common products are fruits and vegetables.
