However, whilst all this is taking place, across the globe, there are more millions of people indulging in a variety of food, clothes, housing and other luxuries. These countries are known as “more economically developed countries” or M.E.D.C’s. These countries are lucky enough to have the money and the wealth to look after their country and the citizens living in it, a different story for people living in the likes of Africa. There are many examples of M.E.D.C’s, such as England, France, Spain and Germany, who all have the money to live a happy and healthy life.
There are reasons for people in L.E.D.C’s living in as poor conditions as they do, and one of them is debt. L.E.D.C’s have became so tied down in debt, each baby born in places like Tanzania already owe the country £120. This has become a massive problem, with any money made having to go to western countries. With L.E.D.C’s taking months and sometimes even years to repay money owed, interest rates grow rapidly on top of the original amount owed. Money having to be constantly paid back means there is no money left over for themselves. This is known as poverty trap. Also the dramatic rise in oil, which increased as much as 400%, did not help with the massive amount of debt having to be repayed as quick as possible, to stop interest rates from becoming extortionate.
Another problem with L.E.D.C’s is the rapidly increasing population. Families with a large amount of children is common in the likes of Africa and India. Children are needed as workers to bring in maximum income and help support their family. Also there is only a 50% chance that the child will survive past the age of 5, because of the lack of food, water and high risk of catching a fatal disease. With L.E.D.C’s having a lack of money, this means there is no contraception what so ever. People lack in knowledge about it as there is no one to educate them about it. As a result of this, many people suffer from an S.T.I, such as the fatal Aids. Many lives are lost each day as a result of this.
However, this is not the end of the problems people living in L.E.D.C’s face. Problems that are far from their control, affect the conditions they live in, in a big way. An example of this is war within the country causing many people to loose their house, possessions and often, their lives. War destroys buildings, such as people’s houses, schools and hospitals, causing their country more devastation and more poverty. People resort to moving to safer countries and becoming refugees in order to escape war in their own country. These wars are often fought between people from the same country, known as civil wars. Reasons for people fighting people from the same country are often because of the empire-building that once occurred many years ago. However, civil wars are not the only wars that go on. Many wars have been between two different countries, such as Ethiopia and Somalia.
Another reason for causing problems amongst L.E.D.C’s is natural disasters occurring. This is under no-ones control and can therefore not be stopped. Many L.E.D.C’s are situated in prime locations where natural disasters are at their highest. Many natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and droughts, destroy many people’s homes and cause devastation in their path. If there is a little amount of rainfall or to much, crops will be destroyed and wont grow properly, meaning there is a shortage on food and often stopping a families only food supply. As there are many problems that can be resolved through a long period of time, there are also many that can not be helped and are beyond our control, and will therefore continue to cause more destruction and devastation within L.E.D.C’s.