A “silent tsunami” has swept the African continent for decades. For decades malaria, the mosquito-born disease, has killed as many children per-month in Africa as the tsunami in Southeast Asia killed in a matter of minutes. In fact, every week 130,000 people in Africa die of preventable causes, according to Doctors Without Borders. One tsunami per week sweeps the “dark-continent.” Yet the devastation wrought by this “silent tsunami” goes unsung. No star-spangled telethons are held in its relief. Militaries do not drop mosquito nets or clean water tablets in sufficient degree to quell the weekly or even daily wave sweeping across Africa.
To quell this monthly massacre, millions are needed. However, mass drops of food, while desperately needed in many parts of Africa, are not solely needed to impede the omnipresent “silent tsunami.” All that is needed is bed nets to hold back the mosquitoes that lecherously feed on the downtrodden and defenseless. The inexpensive medications needed to build a break against the crashing wave are readily available to the richest 22 nations in the world. Unfortunately, inexpensive remedies often fade in the face of moral indifference and the power of pseudo-medicinal companies such as Pfizer.
Our world has shown itself to be not completely morally bankrupt time and time again. Our world has, however, shown itself to be indifferent many more times. In a report for ABC News, the United Nations advisor to the Director of the UN’s Millennium Project professor Jeffrey Sachs stated, greater knowledge would purge the world of its indifference to the “silent tsunami” devastating Africa. This may be wishful thinking. However, after seeing the world’s response to the photos of devastation in Southeast Asia, perhaps not.
Perhaps what we need is a catalyst. Maybe, just maybe, the moniker of the “silent tsunami” will bring the attention to the havoc diseases such as malaria – bereft of their hold on the richest nations in the world – still create in Third-World nations. Many of the world’s nations have made progress toward achieving this goal of clean drinking water for citizens of the world, not merely citizens of one’s own nation. However, many nations, especially those in Africa, according to the United Nations, are still falling far short of their goals.
The United Nations claims no money outside of money already promised, is needed to quell the silent tsunami. In 2002 the world’s 22 wealthiest nations agreed to fund the United Nations millennium development goals by providing 0.7 percent of their Gross National Product, or 70 cents out of every $100. All that is needed is for wealthy nations, such as Australia – who donated generously to tsunami relief – to fulfill their promises of aid to needy nations. That is not to say that the wealthiest nation in the world, the United States, has come anywhere near fulfilling its promised funds. We are woefully short. Per capita America is contributing less than all of the other 22 nations on the list. In fact, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States contributed just 0.15 percent of its gross domestic product to development assistance, behind 21 other western nations.
Perhaps the West is worried about competing economic development to such a large degree as to blind itself to the plight of others. However, as Jeffrey Sachs succinctly put it, “If you think that helping Somalians and Ethiopians to stay alive right now and get a basic education and have the advantage of electricity and malaria bed nets is somehow going to threaten Australia, I think you have the wrong economic model.” And if you think this aid could in any way harm America you are dreadfully confused. Aid in this effort can only engender greater humanity and spread the freedom we claim to adore.
-Bill Luecke is a history senior and opinion editor of The Daily Aztec.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.
