Eradicating what ails the poor

I read bits and pieces of articles throughout Vanity Fair’s July issue focusing on Africa’s devastating crisis on health and poverty. As I started reading an article about economist Jeffrey Sachs and his vision of eradicating extreme poverty in Africa, I was intrigued and once again filled with excitement to read about an individual who is working selflessly to make a difference in other people’s lives. The question that may sometimes turn into an argument of whether extreme poverty can come to an end at times seems endless. There are always programs, concerts, specials and presentations showcasing the fight to eradicate something in some country. Looking at Africa, there are numerous avenues in which the fight to help save lives take place. There is a focus on these issues and they are very apparent in the media. It only makes sense that the fight continues until the plight of the most simplist illnesses and harsh conditions of living are erased from the face of the earth. The only sad truth is that the problems seem to constantly persist, that those nations that are in the poorest of conditions and cannot provide for its people remain in constant strain. Those people who need the most basic needs are still in dire situations that continue to perpetuate into worse conditions of civil war, corruption and chaos; Therefore, when you have nothing, you have to fight to protect what little you may have. I’m not saying that there aren’t agencies and organizations that haven’t achieved or met some type of goal or progressed into helping multitudes of people. There need to be concrete solutions to once and for all end what may be threatening the lives of millions of people; whether it be hunger, poverty, disease, or some other injustice. But even more importantly, steps to those solutions need to be acted upon. As many would agree, starting at the foundation of the system to meet the basic needs of people with shelter, food, water, simple medication and education is a good place to begin. Providing people with the most simplist of needed resources is what helps. In return, a solution such as this can only mean that a country will be strengthened to nurture its citizens and perpetuate into a growing cycle of solutions to eradicate what most ails a nation and its people.