<p>Current Events
Jackie Robinson’s concern for his fellow man extended beyond the boundaries of the United States and he remained keenly aware and interested in world affairs often lending his voice to issues on a global stage. What do you consider to be the most pressing global issue today and why? How might you use your talents or studies in the future to address these issues? Be sure to provide statistics and examples to support your position. [2500 characters]
I live in one of the most known cities in the world: New York City. It is filled with the most beautiful tourist sites but behind all that beauty is poverty. Sam Roberts from the New York Times wrote an article titled One in Five New York City Residents Living in Poverty. Poverty seems to be increasing everyday yet no one has done much about it. In the future, I hope to travel around the world offering free medical services for those who need it. Poverty arises when we least expect it and I also hope to not just offer free medical services but to also teach them how to take care of themselves health-wise so they do not have to necessarily depend on money to go to the doctor.
The most pressing global issue today is poverty. It is a worldwide epidemic. This is due to the immense number of people it has affected. Poverty results in disease and disease also results in poverty. Those who are poor and cannot afford healthcare die because of it. Those who have a life-threatening disease like cancer, end up in poverty because treatment for the disease is so costly. People in poverty might also turn to drugs and other addictives to take their minds off their dire circumstances. The World Health Organization states that
nearly 80% of NCD [noncommunicable disease] deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
NCDs are caused
by four behavioral risk factors that are pervasive aspects of economic transition, rapid urbanization and 21st-century lifestyles: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity and the harmful use of alcohol. The greatest effects of these risk factors fall increasingly on low-and middle-income countries, and on poorer people within all countries, mirroring the underlying socioeconomic determinants
poverty exposes people to behavioral risk factors for NCDs and, in turn, the resulting NCDs may become an important driver to the downward spiral that leads families towards poverty.
One of my main goals is to travel the world helping those in need. By becoming a doctor, I hope to travel to countries with a high percentage of poverty and help those who need medical attention at no cost at all. I plan to advocate for the poor speaking to large crowds and informing them of this global issue. Poverty can happen to anyone and everyone should know how to handle it.</p>