WASHINGTON, D.C.— After an inspiring speech from President Barack Obama, USAID wants to end global poverty by 2030 with the use of science and technology.
USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, has called for science and technology professionals to come together to help alleviate global poverty by making things more affordable for those living in less than ideal areas.
USAID is working at the beck and call of President Obama who, in 2013, outlined several practical ways in which extreme global poverty could be eradicated within the next two decades by using advancements in science and technology.
It was President Obama’s belief that by connecting more people to the global economy, empowering women, giving the young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve and helping communities to feed, power, and educate themselves, poverty could become a thing of the past.
President Obama is also pushing to end AIDS and provide vaccinations for children who do not have access to them. Preventing curable diseases is important for eradicating global poverty.
It has been nearly a year since the speech that sparked USAID’s research into what technology can do for impoverished people, and they have already accomplished much in a small amount of time.
There are thousands of patents for new technology that can help the world one small community at a time. There are patents for wells that purify water, for billboards that can use humidity and rainfall to provide purified water to communities surrounding it and there has been some headway into eradicating the AIDS virus once and for all.
There are many more technological advances that have been made in the past few years that could help not only the impoverished nations, but the polluted nations as well. These technologies include concrete, laundry detergent and paper that devour air pollutants, and water purification systems that help rid bodies of water of dangerous and detrimental chemicals.
Technology can be used to save the world and help overcome many of the problems humans have created for themselves, the environment and one another. Some technology can also be harmful to the environment, but there are several actions in place to prevent this. The technology does not have to be sophisticated to end global poverty and extreme pollution.
Technology and science have come a long way, but there is still an even longer way to go in order to improve the world’s neediest, most polluted and most poverty-stricken areas.
USAID believes that if many people can work together to help think, create and better the communities around them, then global poverty will meet its end much sooner than people think.