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International Dialogue

International Dialogue

Abstract

The foreword of this text is significant because Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, make reference to the fact that in more than forty years the world has seen much improvement in curbing poverty. Less than half the world’s population lives in poverty and the proportion of children who die before the age of five has dropped even more. By 1990, it was around 10%, and now it is closer to 5%, even though 5% is still too many when you consider 6.3 million child deaths per year. Most of the deaths, however, are caused by curable diseases, such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria. The fact that child deaths have decreased shows that aid does work and foreign aid does have positive results. The Gates point out that philosopher Peter Singer believes that we can work together to prevent bad things, such as the death of children, from happening. The good thing is that more and more people becoming aware of the importance of this and are taking action. The Gates commend Singer for being ahead of his time when he first published the article “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” in 1972.

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