President Barack Obama gave a speech to the United Nations on Sept. 28 discussing plans to take on the issues of poverty and sexism.
The New York Times reported that President Obama said, “Billions of our fellow human beings are at risk of dying from diseases that we know how to prevent. Many children are just one mosquito bite away from death. And that is a moral outrage.”
Priscilla Tandiman, a junior from Indonesia studying biochemistry, said, “During high school we worked with the poor and needy. In certain areas of Indonesia there is poverty. The government is trying to fix the problem by giving help to the poor with a system similar to the welfare program in the U.S. Sometimes, though, the people take advantage of the system.”
“One of the best indicators of whether a country will succeed is how it treats its women,” President Obama said, “and I have to say I do not have patience for the excuse of, ‘Well, we have our own ways of doing things.’”
Obama paused and added, “We understand that there is a long tradition in every society of discriminating against women. But that’s not an excuse.”
Junsun Hanny, a freshman from South Korea studying accounting, said, “Back home in Korea it is changing. A few years ago the mothers would stay at home and take care of the children but now they are working more out of the home.”
Hanny also said he is taking EIL 310 right now and they are discussing ways to solve the issue of poverty. He thinks we should increase the welfare fee rate and create shelters for the homeless. A program known as Pepfar, which is an acronym for President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, seeks to treat 11.4 million infected people by the end of 2016, and 12.9 million by the end of 2017, according to the New York Times. Even if the goals were met, however, there are still people who would need treatment.
Melissa Kunz, a sophomore from Utah studying biology, said, “Two summers ago we went to Rome and to France, and there were homeless people all over the place. Poverty is an issue all over the world. Growing up, we were always taught to help out with those in need.”
The New York Times reported the Obama administration has undertaken a variety of new programs, like Power Africa, meant to bring electricity to some of the most impoverished parts of the planet.The New York Times also reported the UN leaders adopted 17 goals, and set 169 targets for action.