Lesson 20 — Activity 3: What Makes a "Have Not" Country?
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Lesson 20 — Activity 3:
What Makes a "Have-Not" Country?
What Makes a "Have-Not" Country?
Warm Up
You now know more about what it means to be a have or developed country. In this activity, you will learn about the criteria that define a have-not country and learn which nations are included in this group.
People who live in a have-not nation are extremely poor and are often unable to provide for all the basic needs of survival (food, water, shelter, and clothing). These nations are often referred to as undeveloped or underdeveloped.
In the world's poorest countries, the gross national income per capita (GNI), or average amount of money a person makes, is less than $1 a day. This means that people do not even make $365 a year. Although goods are cheaper in these countries, not all people can afford them when they earn such a small amount of money.
@Akanoop / CC BY-SA
Think about it!
Can you image working for a full day and earning less than a $1! It's hard to image because we live in such a wealthy country. On average in Canada, a person earns about $136 per day. That is a lot more than $1! Because of this, we are able to afford a much better standard of living.
In many of
these countries, especially on the continent of Africa, traditional
grazing and farming methods have been devastated by drought and years of
conflict. This has added to the poverty because people can no longer
depend on food that they hunt, gather, or grow for themselves. These
people do not have the luxury of deciding on whether to buy a new video game; they
have to try to decide how they are going to find food to eat.
desertification fences @ Anderson sady / CC BY-SA
In many of these countries, especially on the continent of Africa, traditional grazing and farming methods have been devastated by drought and years of conflict. This has added to the poverty because people can no longer depend on food that they hunt, gather, or grow for themselves. These people do not have the luxury of deciding on whether to buy a new video game; they have to try to decide how they are going to find food to eat.
desertification fences @ Anderson sady / CC BY-SA
@Noelcmn / CC BY-SA
People who
live in these countries usually have no access to many of the things
that those who live in wealthy nations take for granted. Water is a very
basic need, but one in every five people in the world has no access to a
reliable supply of fresh drinking water. This problem does not exist in
developed nations, so that means that millions of people in the
have-not nations are deprived of this very basic need. Food is scarce,
and millions die of starvation each year. Most of these are children.
Approximately 10 million children die in these countries before they
reach their fifth birthday.
@Noelcmn / CC BY-SA
People who
live in these countries usually have no access to many of the things
that those who live in wealthy nations take for granted. Water is a very
basic need, but one in every five people in the world has no access to a
reliable supply of fresh drinking water. This problem does not exist in
developed nations, so that means that millions of people in the
have-not nations are deprived of this very basic need. Food is scarce,
and millions die of starvation each year. Most of these are children.
Approximately 10 million children die in these countries before they
reach their fifth birthday.
Life expectancy (how
long a person is expected to live) in the poorest nations ranges from
the mid-forties to the mid-fifties. That is very young! For every
person who dies, many more barely survive. In addition to deaths from
starvation and contaminated water, millions die each year from
inadequate health care. Something as simple as an aspirin that we take
for granted is not available to these people.
@Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) / CC BY
Life expectancy (how long a person is expected to live) in the poorest nations ranges from the mid-forties to the mid-fifties. That is very young! For every person who dies, many more barely survive. In addition to deaths from starvation and contaminated water, millions die each year from inadequate health care. Something as simple as an aspirin that we take for granted is not available to these people.
@Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) / CC BY
Diseases are another major cause of death in the poorest nations. The continent of Africa has been devastated by HIV/AIDS. World-wide, 25 million people have died from this disease, but more than 60% of these deaths have been recorded in Africa. These staggering numbers bring many more problems that add to an already desperate situation.
Think about it!
Do you have a younger brother or sister? Could you imagine having to take care of your younger siblings all of the time? What about if you were only 10 years old? Would that be easy? If you lived in Africa and lost your parents, you may be expected to take care of your younger siblings, even though you are still very young yourself!
Think about it!
Do you have a younger brother or sister? Could you imagine having to take care of your younger siblings all of the time? What about if you were only 10 years old? Would that be easy? If you lived in Africa and lost your parents, you may be expected to take care of your younger siblings, even though you are still very young yourself!
Realities of Life for Have-Not Nations
Click here to read some startling information about the realities of life for people who live in have-not nations (courtesy of the Millennium Project (http://www.unmillenniumproject.org).
In these nations, people do not have to make decisions that involve choosing between a want and a need. Their choices are a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, they often do not have even the opportunity to make this choice. There are no social programs to help those in need, and often death chooses them.
Self-check!
Try This!
Try the questions below on your own first, and then click on
the tab to check your answers! You may look back at the lesson to find
the answers. (Note: This information comes from the poverty facts you read about above.)
True or False?
- Every year, six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
- Every day, an African child dies of malaria.
- More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day.
- Only 10% of people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water.
- True
- False (Every 30 seconds an African child dies of malaria.)
- True
- False (Over 40% of the world's population do not have access to clean drinking water.)