Author and page information
- This page: https://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-21000-children-died-round-the-world.
- To print all information (e.g. shows extended side notes, optional links), use the print version:
The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses and other related causes. Despite the scale of this daily/ongoing disaster, it rarely receives, let alone prime-time, headline coverage.
Source: The state of the world’s children, 2010 , UNICEF, p.18-19. see also childinfo,
Why is this tragedy not in the headlines?
In 2000, UNICEF’s Nation Progress Report for that year attempted to put these numbers into some perspective:
The continuation of this suffering and loss of life violates the natural human instinct to help in times of disaster. Imagine the horror of the world if a major earthquake occurred and people stood by and watched without helping survivors! Yet every day, there is a disturbingly silent response to a major earthquake equivalent to the deaths of more than 30,000 young children. They die quietly in some of the poorest villages on Earth, far from the scrutiny and conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.
Unfortunately, it seems the world still doesn’t care. It might be reasonable to expect that death and tragedy on this scale should make prime time headlines. Yet, these issues only come to the fore when global meetings or concerts take place (such as the various G8 summits, the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005, etc.).
Moreover, year after year, we see that when those campaigns end and the meetings end, so does the mainstream media coverage.
It feels as if even when there is some media attention, the people who suffer are not those who force the mainstream to report, but rather it is a movement of celebrities and leaders of rich countries who do. Makes this issue newsworthy.
Even in the mainstream media, the idea that rich countries may also be part of the problem is rare. International policies such as structural adjustment, the current form of globalization, and the influence of rich countries on these processes over the decades are rarely addressed.
Instead, the promises and pledges of rich, powerful countries, and the corruption of poor people – who apparently receive abundant goodwill – make the headlines; Repeated broken promises, low quality And The quantum of aid and unfair conditions are not linked.
When these issues touch the mainstream the accountability of recipient countries is often mentioned. The roles of international institutions like the World Bank and the IMF and their financiers (rich/powerful countries) are rarely held to account. The risk is that citizens of these countries get a false sense of hope, creating a false impression Suitable Action is taken in his name.
It may be harsh to say that mainstream media are one of the many causes of poverty, but the point here is that their influence is huge. Both silence and noise can have an impact.
Recent headlines in context
When this page was initially written, the BBC’s top story on prime time television was about a British child kidnapped in Portugal. This is certainly a tragic story that requires reporting, but for the BBC and other British media outlets that pride themselves on excellent international media coverage, why is the plight of millions of children not daily headlines?
Another recent tragedy that dominated headlines and prime time media coverage for days was the Virginia Tech massacre in the US. When media critics media lens Asked about the BBC’s rationale for such sustained coverage given that more people die every day in Iraq and receive only a few minutes in comparison, the BBC responded that this happens every day in Iraq. Look Putting Virginia Tech in Perspective to follow up from media lens,
Some people fear that hearing those depressing stories all the time will get tiring, or that advertisers will pressure media companies to put out a little more entertainment or good news so as not to impact purchasing mood.
And does it have to be just bad news? Despite the tragedy, some progress has been made, which perhaps with greater public attention could spur further efforts in these areas and highlight important related issues.
However, news of the tragedies in Iraq is also depressing, but still receives regular headline coverage.
There is also concern that the lack of sensationalism in reporting the same news every day will result in lower television viewing ratings and may have various consequences – especially where advertising is concerned.
Ultimately the question is whether people want to hear about such depressing news. After all, the media thinks it is delivering what its audiences want. However, it is difficult for people to know what they do or do not want to see if they are never given a choice of options. If the magnitude of this suffering is barely reported Continuous Ways, how can the audience decide whether they want to watch it or not?
about child death
Cautious optimism in reducing child mortality
Notes and sources
Sources of child death
Sources for Asia tsunami comparison
This site’s article, Asian tsunami of December 2004, notes that about 230,000 people died in that disaster.
Source for Iraq comparison
For the Iraq estimate, a Johns Hopkins study (reported in The Lancet) found 400,000 to 950,000 deaths (average about 655,000) since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ,
On one hand, George Bush and many others in The Lancet dismissed this study as lacking credibility and using discredited methods, and instead used Iraq body count figures (30,000 at the time, though now reported to be around 66,000). Is).
If Iraq body count figures are used, the number of days that children have died in Iraq since 2003 is only two or three days. Iraq body count figures are often criticized because they rely on mainstream media reporting, which is heavily censored and managed by the US in Iraq. Yet he criticized the Johns Hopkins study (often known as the Lancet study because that’s where it was published).
The study’s authors defended it, saying that they used the same methodology that the US government is teaching others (and thus refuted Bush’s claim of using discredited methods). The full Lancet report also notes that wartime casualties are often vastly underestimated, so accepting their numbers may not be as difficult as it initially seems. This caused controversy when reported in October 2006, and is detailed in the Iraq media reporting section of this site which includes relevant links.
On this site, many issues are discussed that rarely sustain (or enter) mainstream media coverage. The articles listed below are ones that provide a little more detail behind the above statistics.
see also poverty.com For more interactive information and childinfo For more data based on UNICEF statistics.
Author and page information
- created:
- Last updated:
