Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Field Note
“Arriving in Argentina during the political and economic
upheavals that had begun in 2001, I saw signs of dislocation
and trouble everywhere. Beggars pursued pedestrians on the
once-fashionable Avenida Florida. Banks had installed protec-
tive shutters against angry crowds demanding return of their
frozen and devalued deposits. A bus trip on the Patagonian
Highway turned into an adventure when masked protesters
carrying rocks and burning rags stopped vehicles and threat-
ened their occupants. Newspapers carried reports of starva-
tion in Tucumán Province—in a country capable of producing
seven times the food its population needs.”
Figure 10.9
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
© H. J. de Blij.
Argentina's economy is stabilizing, but in cases where
countries are facing imminent economic, political, and
social meltdown, the only alternative may be to default
on loans. Defaulting countries then fi nd themselves in a
severely disadvantaged position when it comes to attract-
ing future external investment. And if a substantial num-
ber of countries were to default at the same time, a global
economic crisis could ensue that would work to the disad-
vantage of almost everyone.
the global periphery
each month
.
Malaria
is an infectious
disease spread by mosquitoes that carry the parasite in
their saliva. Scientists did not determine the role of mos-
quitoes in the diffusion of the disease until the late eigh-
teenth century. Today, the sequence of the disease is well
known. The mosquito stings an infected host and sucks up
some of the disease agents. In the mosquito's stomach, the
parasites reproduce and multiply, eventually reaching its
saliva. When the mosquito stings the next person, some of
the parasites are injected into that person's bloodstream.
The person who has been stung develops malaria and
becomes a host.
The disease manifests itself through recurrent fever
and chills, with associated symptoms such as anemia and
an enlarged spleen. Nearly one million people in the
world die of the disease each year. Malaria is a major fac-
tor in infant and child mortality, as most of the victims
are children age 5 or younger. If a person survives the dis-
ease, he or she will develop a certain degree of immunity.
However, many infected by malaria are weak, lack energy,
and face an increased risk of other diseases taking hold in
their weakened body.
Malaria occurs throughout the world, except in
higher latitudes and altitudes, and drier environments.
Although people in the tropical portions of Africa suffer
most from this disease, malaria is also prevalent in India,
Southeast Asia, parts of southern China, and the tropical
Americas.
Several types of malaria spread throughout these
regions, with some being more severe than others. In
addition to humans, various species of monkeys, rats,
birds, and even snakes can be affected by the disease. In
Disease
Those living in the global economic periphery experience
comparatively high rates of disease and a corresponding lack
of adequate health care. These circumstances directly affect
economic development, making survival diffi cult for many
people, orphaning children, and weakening the labor force.
As highlighted in Chapters 1 and 2, the high concen-
tration of HIV/AIDS cases in parts of the periphery pres-
ents a signifi cant obstacle to development—particularly in
parts of Subsaharan Africa. Moreover,
vectored diseases
—
those spread by one host (person) to another by an interme-
diate host or vector—are a scourge in warm, humid parts
of the periphery and semiperiphery. The warm, moist cli-
mates of tropical environments enhance biological activity.
Vectors abound in such environments, and infectious dis-
eases spread rapidly through host populations.
Development experts look at malaria as a “silent tsu-
nami” in the periphery, comparing its death toll to the tsu-
nami that ravaged South and Southeast Asia in late 2004.
That tsunami killed some 300,000 people (including
children)
at once
. Malaria kills about
150,000 children
in
