Friday, May 07, 2004
Doubting the Doomsayers
Journalist and author Philip Yancey has been updating a book he co-authored in 1980 with Dr Paul Brand, called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. In the process, he reviewed a passage spelling out the huge gap between developed countries and the developing world.
Says Yancey: “I had recently seen an anonymous email message floating around the Internet indicating that little has changed since 1980. It reported that 80 percent of the world's people still live in substandard housing, 70 percent are unable to read, and 50 percent suffer from malnutrition.
“My curiosity piqued, I spent several days tracking down statistics from authoritative sources, only to find that the email is downright wrong. In fact, the world has made major strides in the last few decades.
“According to best estimates, 25 percent—not 80—of the world's population live in substandard housing. Thirty years ago the global literacy rate was 53 percent; now only 20 percent of adults cannot read. The percentage of people suffering from malnutrition has dropped by more than half, to 20 percent. Three of four people used to have no access to clean water; now three of four people have it.�
The whole article can be read here.
Journalist and author Philip Yancey has been updating a book he co-authored in 1980 with Dr Paul Brand, called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. In the process, he reviewed a passage spelling out the huge gap between developed countries and the developing world.
Says Yancey: “I had recently seen an anonymous email message floating around the Internet indicating that little has changed since 1980. It reported that 80 percent of the world's people still live in substandard housing, 70 percent are unable to read, and 50 percent suffer from malnutrition.
“My curiosity piqued, I spent several days tracking down statistics from authoritative sources, only to find that the email is downright wrong. In fact, the world has made major strides in the last few decades.
“According to best estimates, 25 percent—not 80—of the world's population live in substandard housing. Thirty years ago the global literacy rate was 53 percent; now only 20 percent of adults cannot read. The percentage of people suffering from malnutrition has dropped by more than half, to 20 percent. Three of four people used to have no access to clean water; now three of four people have it.�
The whole article can be read here.
