My Mommy is Dying, My Brother is Dying

War, pestilence, and famine exist for political reasons, not for lack of technology or resources.

Smallpox has been eradicated from the wild.

There are effective methods of preventing or treating

• HIV/AIDS
• Malaria
• Tuberculosis
• River Blindness
• Polio
• Cholera

and many other diseases. The cost would be some tens of billions of dollars annually. In some cases, treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is required before proper diagnosis and treatment can begin, and major social programs are needed to remove the stigma from victims.

Amputations, mutilations, torture, and rape are still in use as methods of war, and for various social purposes. Civilian populations are at risk from left-over munitions, including land mines, cluster bombs, and others.

Food aid is too often treated as an agricultural program rather than a humanitarian program. The US insists on shipping food aid from the US rather than providing money for purchasing food from neighboring countries.

There are extremely effective health programs in a number of countries, including Partners in Health, originally in Haiti and now in various other countries.