7 million children across DRC out of school

DRC: “African World War,” Chronic Corruption and Poor Governance Severely Impact Schooling

More than a quarter of the primary school-aged children and two-third of adolescents not enrolled in classes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 14

[November 14, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,584 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

DRC is still struggling to overcome the effects of wars that raged between 1996 and 2003, compounded by continuing violence in the east of the country and decades of corruption and poor governance.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). About seven million children across DER (pop: 71,712,867; 18th largest) are out of schools.
• DRC is the second largest country in Africa (area: 2,345,409 km²) and 11th largest in the world.
• The country has not yet overcome the impact of two devastating wars, also known as “African World War,” that raged between 1996 and 2003 and involved seven foreign militaries.
• The effect of the wars have been compounded by ongoing violence in the east of the country and chronic corruption.
• Congo’s second war is the world’s deadliest since WWII, claiming 5.4 million lives, most of whom died from diseases and malnutrition.
• The prevalence of rape and other sexual violence in eastern Congo is the worst in the world.
• Poverty and weak governance are two of the major contributing factors.
• Another factor that compounds the problem is the use of school land by private developers, especially in urban areas, IRIN reported.
• “Many of the public schools in existence are in deplorable conditions; no blackboards in many of them; in some, children sit on the floor due to lack of desks, and the most worrying concern is encroachment on school land by individuals, many of whom are connected politically,” according to SOS Kinshasa, an NGO based in the capital.
• “One can find a pharmacy, restaurant or even bar right in the middle of a school compound—it looks like all open spaces in schools are up for grabs.”
• UK. The levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in 40 of 43 “assessment zones” set up across the UK exceed the EU limits, a report said.
• Air pollution in the UK takes up to eight months off Britons’ life expectancy.
• “But for the 200,000 people most directly affected, the shortfall is two years.”
• Bad air quality is also costing the country up to $32 bn (UKP20bn) per year via poor health.
• “It is estimated that around 4,000 people died as a result of the Great Smog of London [aka, ‘pea-souper’] in 1952.”
• “In 2008, 4,000 people died in London from air pollution and 30,000 died across the whole of the UK.” The report said.
• Vehicle exhausts, tires and brakes emissions are the major sources of airborne particles.

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – November
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar