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March 22, 2013 is World Water Day. Julian Omidi discusses the awareness that is provided through the day and what cooperation can do to help provide water to those in need.

The Unied Nations is using World Water Day 2013 to highlight water cooperation. With water being one of the most basic and essential human needs, access for all of the people of the world to clean water is crucial in helping to eliminate poverty and improve health.

Lack of access to water can be an issue that directly correlates to poverty, but it can also be a purely geographic issue with uneven distribution of clean, fresh water through various areas of the world, making cooperation across countries imperative.

Not only is the increased demand for fresh water (more than 7 billion people globally require clean and fresh water), but in many nations political and social unrest can also affect water access. Climate change to is also having an affect on the supply of clean water around the world and all of these factors contribute to the 783 million individuals that lack access to safe water. Not only are there three-quarters of a billion people who lack a basic human need, but roughly 2.59 billion people (37% of the world's population) have no access to sanitation, resulting in disease and death for many in developing nations.

Other problems directly related to water include:
  • Women and children spend 40 billion hours each year collecting water. Imagine what these women and children could accomplish in their lives if these hours could be spent in school or as part of the workforce.[1]
  • Scarcity of water contributes to major food shortages.
  • Water-related illnesses, specifically diarrhea, accounts for 3,000 deaths every day in children under the age of 5. In 2002 the United States saw roughly 1,500 deaths as a result of diarrhea, while in India the same year roughly 456,400 diarrheal deaths occurred, a huge discrepancy. [2]
There are several charities that work to provide assistance in the provision of clean water including:
To learn more about World Water Day 2013 and the goal to encourage water cooperation, view the message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon below.

By Julian Omidi

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/world-water-day-2013-facts_n_2927389.html?utm_hp_ref=impact
[2] http://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/the-us-ranks-72nd-in-death-by-diarrhea/

 
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While looking at the state of poverty around the world, Julian Omidi notes the striking rise in poverty rates in Europe. Julian Omidi discusses these findings and what they mean for the global fight against poverty. 

Whether developing or developed, nations across the globe contain people suffering from poverty and Europe is no exception. Poverty in Europe was recently shown to affect almost 120 million people, equivalent to approximately one-fourth of the overall population of the European Union. 

Some of the hardest hit countries have included Bulgaria, where almost half of the population are near or below the poverty level, Romania, and Latvia (where the impoverished or near-impoverished make up roughly two-fifths of the population), and Lithuania. In countries like Greece and Spain the number of those impoverished was higher than the EU average, but a few countries such as France have managed to keep poverty levels below that average. These figures have seen a significant rise when compared to the numbers for 2008 and 2009, when the percentage of those in poverty hovered around 23.45%. 

In the United Kingdom, over 13 million residents live below the poverty line, which accounts for about 20.75% of the population. That means that about one in four people living in the UK are currently experiencing poverty. The recession (which has affected more than just the United States and its inhabitants) took a significant toll on those in Europe as well, with an increasing number of people turning to foodbanks in the nation in order to avoid starvation. 

Food poverty affects people on both sides of the poverty line, many of whom are employed and many of whom are trying to support families. It is estimated that only about 5% of the people assisted by foodbanks are homeless and that the majority are working families who are struggling to make ends meet, especially around the holidays when there is an expectation to spend money on gifts for children. Additionally, winter brings with it an increased need for utilities such as heat and with rising energy costs, many will struggle to stay warm and fed let alone be able to splurge on toys. 

The UK has a number of different charities of their own to help combat poverty, including the Trussell Trust's Foodbank Network, which is a community-based and run project that provides a minimum of three days worth of nutritionally balanced food to those experiencing a food crisis. Trussell Trust has been rolling out three new foodbanks per week for some time in order to accommodate the needs of those who are in desperate need of food. 

There are people suffering in every corner and country of the world as a result of poverty and the only thing that we as global citizens can do is assist in worthy charities no matter where they are located. Join the discussion via social media and share this article to spread awareness and encourage charitable giving, especially around the holidays. 

By Julian Omidi

 
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A new study is showing a link between unemployment and heart attacks. 

A joint study conducted by researchers and professors from Duke University and University of Michigan and sponsored in part by the National Institute of Aging found that unemployment can damage your heart as well as your pocketbook. The study specifically looked at the effects of unemployment on over 13,000 men and women between the ages of 51 and 75. 

Job Losses and Heart Attacks
While the study did not indicate whether or not the job loss was a result of a layoff, termination, or voluntary resignation, it noted that though the increased risks were not huge, multiple job losses often presented as much of a threat as high blood pressure and smoking. Due to the age of the participants it is important to note that the study did not consider retirement as unemployment. 

Theories behind the increased risk of heart attacks due to the loss of a job included that the event may trigger a coronary issue - especially in those that already have heart disease or clogged arteries - and the fact that health insurance and access to medical care are lost as well as the job itself. 

How Poverty Comes Into Play
Impoverishment and heart disease risks have long been shown to be connected. In a 2009 study from the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that those in developed countries that have lower incomes and less education have increased risks for heart disease overall. Typically this is due to many of the same reasons behind job loss; increased and prolonged stress and a lack of adequate healthcare. Additionally, those who live in poverty are more likely to partake in smoking and are at an increased likelihood to be obese. 

What Can Be Done?
Education and awareness are some of the most effective ways of combating these issues. Unfortunately people will lose their jobs, but the best thing we can do is keep them from slipping into poverty by supporting organizations that combat poverty. Both of these solutions are why the Omidi Brothers (Julian Omidi and Michael Omidi) have set up our own non-profit organization No More Poverty. By increasing awareness and helping to provide education and resources to fight poverty hopefully we will be able to increase the overall health of the people we share this planet with. 

Sources:
Norton, Amy. "Lifelong Poverty Increases Heart Disease Risks." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 27 Mar. 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/27/us-lifelong-poverty-idUSTRE52Q3S520090327>.

"Study Links Unemployment, Heart Attacks." Chicagotribune.com. Tribune Newspaper, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-study-links-unemployment-heart-attacks-20121119,0,836824.story>.

 
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Philanthropist Julian Omidi is cofounder of No More Poverty with his brother, Dr. Michael Omidi.  No More Poverty is an organization dedicated to bolstering the work of charities that strive to end global poverty and its causes.  In this article, Julian Omidi discusses the conditions of refugee camps in South Sudan, and the conflict that continues to rage in that region.

I just read an incredibly disturbing article about the conditions for refugee children in South Sudan.  It seems that thousands have been made ill from the horribly unsanitary conditions in the refugee camps.

According to Doctors without Borders, approximately three children die every day in the camps from diarrhea, malaria and other avoidable illnesses.  The camp, which is located between Sudan and South Sudan, sits on a flood plain which turns into a veritable swamp during the heavy rains. Latrines overflow; everyone is constantly wet and bacterial infection runs riot.  The conditions are so bad that there has been an attempt by the United Nations to relocate the refugees to safer grounds, but the constant arrival of new refugees in militarized zones forced a halt to the effort until the new arrivals had been moved out of danger.  According to the article:

“’These are unequivocally unsafe and unfit locations’ said Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. ‘It’s still an ongoing, full-fledged crisis.’”

One of the many delays in moving the refugees to safer ground is the possible existence of land mines in the lesser populated regions of Jamam. There are few roads leading into and out of the camps, making deliveries of food and medicine very difficult

The conflict in Sudan has been raging for decades, and even the secession of South Sudan has done little to resolve it.  Both regions have been squabbling over the profits from Sudanese oil reserves, and rebel factions, opposition movements and militias keep springing up and threatening the lives of the people.  The situation in the Nuba Mountains is similar to the “Lost Boys” mass flight; thousands of children are wandering the border looking for refuge.  The new accord between Sudan and South Sudan over the exportation of oil has done little to end much of the strife, as four Nigerian peacekeepers were recently ambushed and killed by an unidentified party.  The article goes on to say:

“According to the United Nations, 300,000 people have died because of the war. The Sudanese government says 10,000 have died. A peace agreement was signed between the government and one rebel group in 2011, but three other rebel groups have refused to sign.”

Situations like the conditions and the strife in Sudan can make anyone feel absolutely helpless, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing whatever we can to create a world where people no longer have to feel threatened by their own governments, or suffer and possibly die in miserable and unsafe conditions.  The charities we sponsor at No More Poverty do great work to rescue people all over the world from perishing conditions of poverty, and giving a little support to organizations like Drop in the Bucket (which provides clean water to schools and communities in destitute regions) and International Surgical Mission Support (which provides free medical care to people in poor countries) may ultimately help cure the world of many of its evils.

Sources:

Gettleman, Jeffrey. "Child Refugees Die as Illnesses Sweep Camp In South Sudan." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 July 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/world/africa/refugee-children-dying-at-alarming-rate-in-south-sudan-aid-groups-say.html?_r=1>.

Kushkush, Isma’il “Sudan: Peacekeepers Killed in Ambush” Nytimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/world/africa/nigerian-peacekeepers-killed-in-darfur-ambush.html?ref=sudan