Woe is the world

 "When it comes to global health there is no 'them' only 'us'"-Global Health Orginization.

• Sanitary Water. There is about one billion people in this world that does not have access to sanitary water. The lack of such a basic need causes multiple problems including diseases, starvation, dehydration, low economy. How does it effect economy and starvation? Well how is a developing country supposed to grow when the infant mortality rate is high due to diseases cause by lack of water? And how are people supposed to grow plants, clean their produce and cook their meals without sanitary water? To me this is one of the biggest problems in the world, and it's the reason I became a Sustainability major. In dry areas, especially in Africa, there are natural springs about one hundred feet below ground that can be tapped through wells.
• Infant mortality rate. Forty-five percent of all children under five deaths are newborn or neonatal babies. Eighty percent of these deaths are due to premature births and low birth rates, infections, and birth trauma. A majority of these deaths could be prevented with postnatal healthcare on site, but unfortunately most of these women in developing countries can't afford to stay in a hospital after birth. Countries who face higher infant mortality rates, sub-Saharan and Asian countries, would need to allocate money towards the health of mothers before and after birth. I also think that with better sanitation overall this number would decrease.
• Lack of Education. 72 million children of schooling age are not in school, and there are over 700 million parents are illiterate without the education to help improve their lives along with their children. Most of these children lack proper education because of poverty, or inequality. As countries begin to develop, funds are not appropriated for schools and training of educators. This leaves a large number of children who get less then four years of education.
• Gender equality. Women's rights have taken a huge stride into the future over the past century, but it still remains unequal throughout the world. Women still have a higher illiteracy rate caused by many things including family obligations. In developing countries women and girls are expected to collect water, cook, and clean the house. Collecting water alone takes eight hours a day, and because of this young girls have a high education drop out rate in order to help their families out. This also adds to the fact that six out of ten of the world's poorest people are women. On top of that, in developed countries highly educated women still make less money than their male counterparts. In developing countries I feel that education is a huge reason that this persists. The fact that girls must stay home instead of getting a proper education accounts for a large reason why there's still gender inequality.
• Sanitary defecation. World toilet day--which is held on Nov. 19--is one of the first steps in bringing to light the 2.4 billion people who don't have access to a sanitary toilet. Over 1 billion people defecate in open areas, and this has caused numerous problems. Diseases are the biggest outcome of lack of toilets around the world, which causes the toilet to be a life or death scenario. On top of that women are forced to defecate at night in fear of being raped by men lying in wait during the day. Also, some girls don't attend school due to lack of separate bathrooms for them during their menstrual cycles. There needs to be more of a focus from the state level on providing sanitary toilets to those who need it.
• World hunger. One in nine people in the world suffer from chronic undernourishment due to lack of food. The average adult needs 1600 calories a day in order to survive, anything more would be considered "work" calories for everyday activities. I think that one major way this could be resolved is by going into countries and teaching people how to grow their own crops on the lands they have. Organizations like IFAD have already started programs like this.
• Arms race. The arms race continues to grow with technology, and the need to have the best military in the world. Currently most major countries are involved in arms acquisitions including China, the Koreas, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia, and the U.S. The U.S. and Russia have recently sold some of their more advanced air power to other countries. Russia selling its SU-27 fighter to China and U.S. selling F-16's to Taiwan. I consider this a world problem in the fact that as weapons increase in deadliness the likelihood of Einstein's quote becomes more and more relevant; "I know not what WW3 will be fought with, but WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones."-Albert Einstein. I honestly don't see an end to the arms race. Countries will always think they need the biggest "gun" in order to remain in power. It is also proven that the stronger the weapons the more of a deterrent they are.
•  HIV. Over 60 million people have been diagnosed as infected by AIDS, which has spread to every part of the world. There is no one region that hasn't been touched in some way by this disease. A lot of the cause of this is through sexual transmission, or unsanitary medical practices in needles. Countries like Swaziland have a majority of their population infected by the disease. Organizations like UNAIDS have spent the last twenty years to decrease the percentage of AIDS found in the world. The Thirst Project has found that bringing sanitary water into a country has affected the spread of HIV because of the increase in medical sanitation provided by clean water. 
• Terrorism. With recent attacks on Paris, Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, Tunisia, and many more terrorist groups like IS has shown its true reach in the world. I don't think there is an immediate solution to terrorism. It's like fighting a ghost because terrorists don't have a specific look, and anyone can be a terrorist.