Our Basic Needs - A Snapshot Of The World

The world's population is estimated to be about 7 billion people. [1] Here's a snapshot of the world today, based on our basic needs:

1. FOOD:
• About 1 billion people are undernourished. [2]
• About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year. [3]
• About 1.4 billion people are overweight, of whom 500 million are obese. [4]
2. WATER:
• About 700 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources [5]
• About 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation facilities. [6]
• About 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open. [7]
3. SHELTER:
• About 1 billion people live in slums. [8]
• About 1.3 billion people don't have electricity. [9]
4. HEALTHCARE:
• About 1/3 of the world's population (about 2 billion people) don't have access to essential medicines. [10]
5. EDUCATION:
• About 700 million adults are illiterate. [11]

We need to simplify our lives and focus only on meeting our basic needs. We need to ensure that the basic needs of all people on earth are met.

Round tables [12] need to be established with experts from the relevant fields, in order to resolve these issues, dealing with the most desperate (emergency) situations first.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

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References:

1. World Population. www.wikipedia.org. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
2. Global hunger declining, but still unacceptably high. www.fao.org. Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Economic and Social Development Department. Sept 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
3. Cutting food waste to feed the world. www.fao.org. Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
4. Obesity and overweight. www.who.int. World Health Organization (WHO). Media centre. Fact sheet No. 311. Reviewed May 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
5. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). www.unicef.org. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
6. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). www.unicef.org. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
7. Deputy UN chief calls for urgent action to tackle global sanitation crisis. www.un.org. UN News Centre. Mar 21, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
8. The Challenge of Slums - Global Report on Human Settlements 2003. www.unhabitat.org. PDF Report, Foreword. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
9. World Energy Outlook 2012. www.iea.org. International Energy Agency (IEA). Nov 12, 2012. PDF Report, page 7. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
10. The World's Medicines Situation 2011: Access To Essential Medicines As Part of The Right To Health. World Health Organization. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
11. Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality For All. www.unesco.org. Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report 2013/4. PDF Report, page 5. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
12. Round Tables Are Required. www.carterkagume.blogspot.ca. Aug 29, 2013. Retrieved Aug 28, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.