World Ark Magazine - January/February 2008 - (Page 4) FOR THE RECORD FA C T S & F I G U R E S A Tale of More and More Cities In 2007, population experts say the balance of rural to urban populations finally tipped. For the first time, the majority of people worldwide live in cities. This number is rapidly increasing, with 95 percent of the growth in the next 30 years expected to take place in developing countries. The bad news is that urban poverty is increasing as well. The slums of Mumbai, for example, are growing 11 times faster than the city itself. The good news? If urban growth is handled well, it can be an economic engine for a country. But as the locus of global poverty has shifted, development aid has lagged behind the trend. Organizations must focus on improving food systems, water supplies and health as much in urban areas as in rural ones. Learn more at www.un.org. GET T YIMAGES GET T YIMAGES Making a House a Home In northern Pakistan, where a devastating earthquake in 2005 killed 75,000 and left millions homeless, a new strategy for humanitarian aid is helping the region recover. The Pakistani government, working with the U.N. Human Settlements Programme, has given homeowners funds to reconstruct their homes as well as special training in building earthquake-resistant houses. Engineers consulted with hundreds of thousands of homeowners, teaching them techniques like reinforcing doors and windows with steel. Since the quake, 500,000 homes, a number officials call unprecedented, have been built or are under construction. They attribute the high success rate to an owner-driven strategy. “It allows them to overcome the trauma of the disaster by focusing their efforts rebuilding their lives,” program director Jean Christophe Adrian said. Hot Food Makes a Difference A simple basket made of river reeds and hay is helping transform the eating habits—and the health—of HIV patients in southern Africa. The basket keeps food heated for hours so it can be delivered still warm—important because heat kills bacteria in foods, which can be deadly for those with compromised immune systems. An organization called the AIDS Counselling Trust has begun using the basket, which is easily and inexpensively made with local materials, to transport meals to those living with HIV. In rural areas where electricity and fuel are scarce, the innovation could mean the difference between sickness and health for many. SOURCE: IRIN/PLUSNEWS 4 January/February 2008 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org http://www.un.org http://www.heifer.org
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