Information is ubiquitous. People are only as developed as the information they access. Given the wretched conditions that prevail over so much of our earth, it is clear billions of people are deprived of information they need to create decent lives for themselves and their families. 80 million in Africa alone. That's more people than the population of France, a lot more.
Ignorance has consequences.
Just ask public health authorities in South Asia, where nearly one million children die each year of easily treatable digestive ailments. Ask the relief agencies in my home country of Ethiopia, where famine is spreading once again. To ponder the suffering and loss of millions can be overwhelming. Consider a more manageable death toll. A few months ago, the story of Yaguine Koita and Fode Tounkara - two boys from Guinea, ages 14 and 15, was carried in the Washington Post .