MESSAGE BOARD
Experts say the solutions to the annual loss of 8.8 million lives to preventable diseases, infections, and childbirth complications are within reach. Boston.com users share their thoughts on how to begin to solve this global health tragedy.
Page 4
This claim by experts is a total overstatement!How many millions and millions of dollars have gone thru Jerry Lewis' telethon since its inception without any cure? To state that more money will bring the necessary research to cure all the medical problems on earth is ridiculous. And how about the common cold, or the devastation of AIDS. Are the experts promising cures there also?
jonny , chelsea
To Laure in Shrewbury-Wrong posting board. It's about preventable disease, infections & childbirth complications NOT board for abortions!!
Name Witheld, Massachusetts
To all those who say the world's overpopulated and helping them won't solve any problems, that it's none of your business, etc. - half the reason for their troubles is exploitation of their resources by richer nations, like ours for instance. When you buy a diamond ring, some poor kid in Africa worked all day and night digging it up for you, and may have died in the process. Cheap labor and no labor laws - a CEO's dream. We have a responsibility and since those who are responsible won't do anything, the best thing we can do is show how wrong they are.
Ann, Boston
Hi. Excellent article pointing out some of the misery that exists in developing countries. Data from Branko Milanovic, an economist at the World Bank shows the economic benefits accruing to the minority industrialized at the expense of the majority of those developing nations. See "True World Income Distribution" 1988/1983, "The Economic Journal" Jan. 2002. If these trends continue, and there is no reason to think other wise, considering US foreign policy, the worse is yet to come. Explains a lot about why our government engenders such emnity in much of the world.
Bruce , Allston
Save the money for printing this piece and us it localy. Worry about the Domestic problems. I am sick of bailing out other countries!!!!
jim
My boyfriend and I recently took our SSUH (same sex union honeymoon) to Cambodia and were beside ourselves with the conditions there. A little bit of aid will go a long way over there.
Jeff, Roche, CA
Your thoughts on this issue are irrelevent everyone. You'll forget about it in a day even those who appear to be most compassionate. It's human nature don't hate yourself for it.
Darwin, West Roxbury
Natural selection at its best. Aren't there enough people in the world already? When are we going to stop worrying about every filthy corner of the planet and start worrying about our own problems?
IronMike, Weymouth
Your project is quite impressive and laudable. Can someone tell, roughly, what the annual cost would be for eradiating most, if not all, of these unnecessary deaths? How does that compare with something else we are doing, like the planned war against Iraq? or the Afganistan war?
RRowe, Belmont
Isn't this the same town (Boston) with a little monument to the Great Hunger in Ireland in the middle of downtown? Will we just build another monument later instead of learning from history? Many people starve in poorer nations because the Western world has built its riches off of them. The previous poster's comment about how child labor is used to mine diamonds is on point. Furthermore, our economic sanctions for our own politics is what starves many of them. It is also true that there are poor people starving in this nation. The article pointed out a total global number -- if you don't want to help someone in another nation for whatever reason, fine. There are plenty of people you can help right here. So go do it and stop judging who deserves death and who doesn't, because not many of you have very educated views on the topic anyway.
saima, malden
