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3 - 2005 Summer - Neglected CrisesFew human tragedies have seized the world’s attention as thoroughly as Ethiopia’s famine and the recent tsunamis in Asia. Victims’ suffering played out in the media with heartbreaking immediacy, compelling people from every walk of life to help. In the midst of such a commendable response, it can be easy to overlook the equally deserving and equally tragic crises around the world that do not dominate the daily news. Conflict, hunger, disease, persecution, and even pestilence prey on the poorest of the poor, causing anguish to millions of people- especially children. The following pages present 11 of the unprecedented number of emergencies to which World Vision is responding. There are others. Click on one of the orange countries on the map below to read more. Intense conflict between military, paramilitary, and guerrilla forces has displaced nearly 2 million people and plunged 20 million Colombians—half the population—into poverty. Often dismissed as merely a drug war, the conflict is actually rooted in centuries of injustice toward the poor.
HAITI Already the poorest and hungriest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has recently suffered political uprising and natural disasters, leaving it on the verge of collapse. A United Nations report found that more than half of Haitians live on less than $1 a day and one in 10 citizens will have HIV/AIDS by 2015. World Vision’s response:
WEST AFRICA Repeated locust invastions and continued drought obliterated last year’s crops in Mauritania, Mali and Niger, causing major food deficits.The dreaded locusts are likely to return to the region this year— perhaps in even greater numbers. World Vision’s response:
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO In perhaps the most overlooked crisis on the globe, an estimated 1,000 people die daily from malnutrition and preventable diseases as they flee ethnic conflict. More than 3.8 million people—equal to the population of Los Angeles—have perished since 1998. World Vision’s response:
SOUTHERN AFRICA A severe drought in 2002 drastically affected food production in several southern African countries. While some have achieved a fragile recovery, others— notably Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Swaziland— continue to struggle, leaving millions of people vulnerable to starvation. Exacerbating this complex crisis: chronic poverty, governance challenges and HIV/AIDS. World Vision’s response:
SUDAN What began as a struggle over land and water has spiraled into brutal violence affecting one in three people in the Darfur province. Armed Arab militia called janjaweed move from village to village, slaughtering unarmed and innocent civilians, raping women, stealing livestock, and burning homes. Survivors—2.3 million, mainly women and children—have taken refuge in squalid camps. World Vision’s response:
UGANDA Fighting between the Ugandan military and the illnamed Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group has uprooted 80 percent of northern Uganda’s population. Children bear the brunt.The LRA has abducted tens of thousands of children and forced them into combat and sexual slavery. Fear of capture forces more than 20,000 children away from their families each night to search for a safe place to sleep. World Vision’s response:
KENYA Drought is chronic in Kenya, but the latest one is particularly fierce. An estimated 2.3 million people are in dire need of food aid. About a quarter of Kenya’s population lives in arid or semi-arid regions affected by erratic rainfall. World Vision’s response:
WEST BANK/ GAZA The Middle East conflict has had widespread impact in Palestinian communities, where unemployment averages 31 percent and severe malnutrition affects 22 percent of children. In addition, the Israeli-built separation wall will divide six villages from their farmland in the West Bank. World Vision’s response:
AFGHANISTAN Periodic violence and insecurity continues, although recent democratic national elections signal hope.The country still contends with destroyed agricultural systems, high infant mortality rates, illiteracy, and limited access to health care. World Vision’s response:
HIV/AIDS The HIV/AIDS pandemic affects every continent on the globe, killing as many people in a month as the tsunamis’ total death toll. The disease disrupts families and entire societies, leaving millions of children without care and support. Experts warn there may be more than 25 million AIDS orphans by 2010. World Vision’s response: In sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe,World Vision works with governments, churches, and communities to prevent the spread of the disease, give hope to the infected, and care for vulnerable children. Return to map |  |
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