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How we can end poverty in Africa and Asia

Families living in poverty in developing nations around the world face many challenges, including preventable diseases. The severity of this risk can be difficult to accurately determine, but recent data suggests that the burden of disease in Africa remains among the highest in the world. A recent report published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the Human Development Network at the World Bank Group revealed the extent of sub-Saharan Africa's burden of disease. Although conditions have improved in many African nations, diseases — particularly those that are preventable — still pose a significant threat to children's lives.Persistent Problems

Researchers studied where progress has been made in reducing the burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa, and which health threats still pose a problem.

Key findings of the study revealed that the burden of disease relating to communicable health problems such as diarrheal complications and lower respiratory infections. Although these remain serious problems in many sub-Saharan African nations, fatalities, especially among children, are much lower on average today than they were 20 years ago. Similarly, although child mortality rates have fallen substantially since 1990 across the region, malaria and HIV and AIDS still pose a significant threat to health in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, countries where these diseases are prevalent often have much higher infant mortality rates than those where they are not.

As deaths attributed to malaria, diarrhea and other communicable diseases have fallen, other health problems have become more prevalent across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Diabetes and strokes are becoming more common in many countries, and reported cases of ischemic heart disease have also risen in some nations. Overall, much progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go in lowering the number of child deaths across sub-Saharan Africa.In Uganda, for example, access to safe water supplies can be scarce, particularly in rural regions where families are often forced to walk many miles to the nearest well or spring. To provide access to clean water for families living in the Wakiso district, ChildFund launched a project to give families water jars so they do not have to make arduous treks to the nearest borehole.

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