The North South Gap - Assignment Example

The North South Gap The Northern regions are characterized with life expectancy of 80 years compared to their Southerners regions whose life expectancy is said to be 47 years. Mortality rate is also very soaring in the South region compared to the North expanse. Cases of transmissible diseases are many in Sub Saharan Africa as compared to the Euro zone. The HIV pervasiveness rate is higher in Southern zone as is the case in Northern region. This imposes a great danger to the south zone considering that their populace grow at a rate of almost 4% unlike the case in the North zone whose growth rate is estimated to be 0.6%. Life expectancy in developed countries grows progressively (Iglehart 343-344). As regards to income, the majority of the population in the South zones is enormously poor and survives below a dollar per day. There is an exceptionally very high dependency level recorded in Southern regions. The governments in the South region are unable to afford employment to their uncontrollable population. However, the Northern regions are associated with a superior percentage of middle class individuals and a very dismal percentage of unemployed. The governments in the Northern zones are capable of providing jobs to their manageable population. Mostly, the people from the South regions tend to maneuver their ways to the North in such for good jobs (Aneek 205-207). In terms of education, the Southern regions provide exorbitant education to their superior population. The cost of education is incredibly high in these regions. In addition, there are very few educational amenities such as universities and colleges to facilitate the education process. The education amenities are stretched since the population outweighs the conveniences. The school enrolment pace in primary is about 65.7%. The teacher-student ratio is almost 1 to 50. Nonetheless, the Northern regions, with their manageable population, provide accessible education for all. The learning facilities are ample to suit the population. Enough resources are available to employ more teachers’ hence low instructor to learner ratio. The primary school enrolment rate is 98.9%. The paramount dilemma with the health sector is undernourishment. The Southern regions are characterized by drought such as Somali hence cannot provide enough food to the nation. Political unsteadiness and civil wars eliminate peaceful environment for foodstuff making. For instance, in Congo, the land is very fertile but the civil war cannot allow its citizens to work towards food production. Families in South regions are large thus cannot be well managed by the low income. If poverty would make someone go starving, then the same individual may treat education as a luxury. The overstretched educational services do not provide conducive environment for the population in the Southern regions. In some instances, a class may have a bigger number of students. Overpopulation, for instance in Nigeria is out of hand and therefore teacher to pupil ratio is high. A trainer is incapable to concentrate on a few students hence plummeting eminence of learning. The income level in Southern region is very low and is characterized by underprivileged working environment such as long working hours. The low-income make most people walk to working places whilst restricting individuals from satisfactorily providing for their families. Various reasons have been deemed responsible for the existence of the gap between North and South divides. One of root cause of this socioeconomic break up is economic power possessed by the Northerners as opposed to the Southerners. The Northerners have enough resources to carry out whatever they believe essential. There are well-established companies in the Northern regions that provide employment opportunities. The already reputable companies are favored by the complimentary tax conditions. Additionally, the governments in the Northern regions are capable of empowering their companies by giving them subsidies and other incentives. Northerners have very good labor laws such as minimum wage to be paid to the employees and minimum working hours (Reuveny & Thompson 31-33). Political stability in the Northern regions promotes environment for investments and a better platform for doing business. Political soundness may therefore generate employment opportunities. Low inhabitants of the Northerners is convenient. Conclusively, the Northerners, undeniably enjoy a very good economic capability. The Southerners inability to be financially independent is a major threat to their well-being. Southerners heavily depend on donations and grants from the Northerners hence making them indulge in large amounts of debt. Consequently, Southerners take most of their resources servicing loans instead of engaging in development issues. The presence of civil wars and insufficient democracy in most of the Southerners regions make investors shy away from investing in those regions. Lack of sophisticated machines and lower level technology inhibits the Southerners from smoothly doing the business. Finally, inability to create adequate jobs by the Southerners creates a very big gap between them and their Northerners counterpart (Al-Katatsheh & Al-Rawashdeh 108-112). Moreover, there is a very big gap when it comes to health matters between the Northerners and the Southerners. The Northerners, because of their economic capabilities, posses highly sophisticated health machines and fully equipped hospitals. Comparably, the Southerners financial constraints disable their governments to acquire adequate health facilities for their citizens. There are affordable insurance policies that cater for the Northerners as compared to the Southerners. The Northerners hire highly qualified doctors even from the Southerners regions since they can afford their remuneration. The Southerners may at times not able to offer enough food at affordable price to their citizens thus leading to high malnutrition prevalence. In addition, the Southerners are not able to provide affordable birth control contraceptives hence leading to unplanned and early parenting. Conclusively, the Northerners have enough resources that promote health in their regions as opposed to their Southerners counterparts (Reuveny & Thompson 39-44). Education policies and levels really differ between the Northerners and the Southerners. The Northerners enjoy overwhelmingly wonderful schools, colleges, and universities that promote education in their regions. As we, all know “education is power.” The Northerners have well advanced research facilities and academic aid, which really encourage quality education. The availability of affordable education for all promote education. Heavy investment in informational technology greatly encourages education in the Northerners regions unlike Southerners who do not have enough resources in their countries hence low educational level. The Southerners should minimize heavy dependency on the Northerners and exploit their lying natural resources by creating industries and eventually to employment opportunities to their people. The Southerners need to embrace democracy and have clear policy for health and education policies. Works Cited Reuveny, Rafael, and William R. Thompson. North and South in the World Political Economy. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub, 2008. Internet resource. Aneek C. International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications. Pearson India, 2010. Internet resource. Al-Katatsheh, Al-Rawashdeh. "The Future of North-South Dialogue in the Context of Globalization." Journal of Politics and Law 4.2 (2011): 108-19.  Iglehart, K. "Health Centers Fill Critical Gap, Enjoy Support." Health Affairs 29.3 (2010): 343-5. Read More