Nigeria - lead poisoning kills 100 children in north

The article Nigeria - lead poisoning kills 100 children in north came from BBC News and it talks about the fact that many children in Nigeria have recently died of lead poisoning, especially in the state of Zamfara. According to the article, "The number has been rising since March, when residents started digging illegally for gold in areas with high concentrations of lead." The article also reports that of the 355 total number of cases of lead poisoning, 163 have been fatal. Since this has become such a problem, they have set up camps in order to treat the people who have been poisoned. Health officials believe that "locals became sick after lead removed during the process of refining gold ore contaminated local water systems."

I found this article very interesting, but also very sad. Many of the villagers believed that the children were all dying from Malaria and did not realize that it was lead poisoning. I think that if the people knew about the high concentration of lead, they would not be illegally mining for gold. It is unfortunate that they have such an important natural resource that is actually harming the people of Nigeria rather than helping them.

This article ties in with what we have been talking about in class because we have had a few discussions regarding natural resources. We have talked about how other countries take advantage of Africa's resources and Africa never really benefits from having such great resources. We also discussed the water pollution Africa faces and how much of a negative impact this has on the health of the people.

Photo: Map of Nigeria, BBC News.

New strategy may be last shot to get rid of polio

I recently read the article "New strategy may be last shot to get rid of polio" from USA Today about the attempts at getting rid of polio. According to the article, "experts are unveiling what they describe as a new strategy to get rid of the feared disease." For years the World Health Organization has been trying to wipe out the disease once and for all, but have not had the success they would like. The article states that "Polio has virtually disappeared from the West but is entrenched in a handful of countries, namely Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan." Even though the World Health Organization thinks that they may have a cure, there are many people who think that it is impossible and believe that they should not waste their time trying to eliminate polio. Along with those people who doubt that they will be able to eliminate polio, there are many experts who are very optimistic. Many of the experts believe that they are so close to finding a cure and need to try now while they still have the money and donors willing to help.

I chose to reflect on this article because I think that eliminating polio would be a huge step in the right direction for these countries. I think that since the experts are getting so close to eliminating the disease, they should continue to try while they still have the support. Some of the donors commented how crucial it is to find a cure in the next few years in order for the donations to keep coming. In my opinion, if these experts do not at least try their ideas now when they come up with them, they will never find a cure.

The article also talks about the idea that polio is spread by dirty water. This really ties in to what we are talking about in class because we have recently had discussions about water pollution and poor water quality in Africa. Since Africa continues to have an issue with having dirty water and it looks like it will continue to be a problem, it is so important that children receive the vaccine in order to prevent them from getting polio.

Photo: Man with polio in Nigeria, USA Today.

Fighting in Somali capital leaves at least 20 dead

I recently read an article from CNN called Fighting in Somali capital leaves at least 20 dead. This article talks about how the Somali forces have been fighting against al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda proxy in order to implement a more strict Islamic law. According to the article, "The fighting has displaced an estimated 1.4 million Somalis within the country, and more than 580,000 live as refugees in neighboring countries." This means that an already overcrowded country has become even more overcrowded, forcing people to live in unsafe conditions such as on the streets under plastic sheets and in temporary dwellings. These terrible conditions are forcing many of the women and children to beg for food. The article also informs the reader that Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991 and this fighting is not helping the situation.

I chose to discuss this article because for my most recent presentation I did for the class I talked about the country of Somalia and the different languages they speak. In reading about Somalia for my presentation, I found out that they do not live in the best environment and are facing a lot of poverty. After reading this article, I found further information on what the situation in Somalia is like.

It is so heartbreaking to me when I think about the country, already facing a lot of poverty, being confronted with even more of it. The living conditions for many people are horrible and it is so sad to think that so many of these people have to beg for food in order to survive. The article also tells the reader that "About 43 percent of the Somali population lives below the extreme poverty line and one in seven Somali children die before the age of 5." This is not even including the current situation with the fighting so the numbers have undoubtedly increased.

Photo: Somali soldier, CNN.

The Africans risking all on the Egypt-Israel border

The article that I read about, entitled "The Africans risking it all on the Egypt-Israel border," was very powerful. I found this article on the BBC World News site. After going to the site and clicking on "Africa," I found many different and interesting articles. However, this article stuck out to me because it had some personal interviews with the people who were trying to cross the Egypt-Israel border. The article talked a lot about personal experiences that people who crossed the border experienced and also the reasons that they decided to cross. Many people wanted to come to Israel because they heard things were better there and were looking for a better life for their family. Many of these immigrants who crossed the border have been arrested, deported, abused, and some of them even killed. One man even talked about how he was separated from his family and still hasn't found them. The article also highlights different things that the government is doing in order to prevent all of these illegal immigrants from crossing over the border. One of the ways in which they tried to prevent this was by cutting off a sea route so the African immigrants could not cross the border.

I chose to read and reflect on this article because it really made me see how difficult the lives of the people living in Africa must be. It is so sad to know that there are people who have to sneak around and work so hard in order to keep their families not only together, but alive. I don't know how the people who are patrolling the border can kill these people when they know that they are just trying to search for a better life. I understand that it is their job to patrol the border, but there has got to be a better way to deal with the situation so that so many people do not lose their lives.

After I read this, I also connected it to the situation the United States is facing with illegal immigrants coming here from Mexico. Even though this is illegal for the Mexican people, as well as those from Africa, I still don't believe that these people should be punished so harshly.

Photo: Darfuri refugee, BBC World News Site.