What Possible Factors Are Affecting Our Social Development?

Different civilizations have built up our world. A human society living in various cities and having cultural and technological characteristics is civilization. Historians have given several reasons why civilizations collapse. For example, scarcity of resources, changes in the atmosphere, inequality, loss of creativity, and bad luck. We know some of these problems as rising social issues in the modern era.

For these difficult times, social workers play an essential part in society. Social workers are professionals who help people get on track with their lives. They help people in a wide range of situations; people suffering from healthcare challenges, deprived of necessary facilities, or a global crisis hit the population. Their methods get updated as the intensity of the problems increases. With time, more and more people join the social workers' league and play their role with devotion. 

Hence the competition is rising among the professionals to lead from a higher position. Educational institutes and government as well are realizing the need for these professionals for the world. Hence specializations, certified programs, and training are available for interested candidates to uplift their knowledge with advanced information and atmosphere. Thus, students are readily enrolling in masters in social work online to pursue their studies and gain professional exposure. Now its time to realize the need for their services globally.

Let us have a look at some general problems that hinder social development. These problems may vary from country to country:

1. Healthcare Challenges

The changing lifestyles, population growth, and medical advancements have become challenges to public health. With discoveries and achievements, we tend to face new problems as well.

1. Non-Communicable Diseases

NCD's, also known as non-communicable diseases, is one primary reason. These include cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes and contribute up to 60% of worldwide deaths. This death toll may rise to 70% according to present trends. 

2. Tobacco

Tobacco consumption is responsible for people to get prone to certain diseases. There has been an increase in the number of smokers lately, and middle-aged people are the top contributors. One could witness quite a lot of effort to curtail the misery, but tobacco still seems to prevail in a developing society. Social workers are quite active in spreading awareness about substance abuse outcomes among young generations. 

2. Water and Sanitation Problems

Over 1.1 billion people don't have access to clean water, and 2.4 billion people don't have access to improved sanitation. Improper sanitation is a significant cause of sickness and diseases in poorly developed areas. It poses a threat to global water resources, as well.

3. Food and Nutrition

Food has been a significant source of an outbreak of foodborne diseases recently. Malnutrition and hunger still prevail in some developing countries. Obesity has become a contributing factor to deaths in under developing countries. The following are the most abundantly occurring diseases currently: 

Hypertension: Salt intake affects blood pressure

Heart disease: Fatty foods and certain oils can create a blockage in arteries.

Cancers: Poor diet that leads to colon, breast, oesophageal, and kidney cancers.

Osteoporosis: Deficiency of vitamin D, excess of fat, and low calcium lead to weak bones.

3. Global Inequality & Poverty

There are three categories in which nations get divided: wealthy countries, middle-income nations, and developing nations. This categorization bases on every countries GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Every state's GDP is the sum of the market values, or prices, of all final goods and services produced in an economy during a period. Poverty is still a massive problem in today's world. Almost every year, the World Bank publishes a report which determines the global poverty line. Three billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, nearly 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty. It is despite the progress that you see around you. The World Bank plans to reduce global poverty to 9% by 2020 and 3% by 2030.

4. Environmental Changes 

Air pollution causes an estimate of 3 million deaths annually. Although air quality standards are in control by (AMIS) Air Management Information System, countries fail to comply. Deforestation and the combustion of fuels have led to an increase in unnecessary amounts of gases in the lower atmosphere. It, combined with the depletion of the ozone layer, has led to a series of following events:

-The rise in floods and storms

-Increased heatwaves

-Changes in food production

-Unexpected changes in climate/ weather-sensitive diseases

5. Corruption

Corruption is a significant cause and a result of poverty as well. It happens on local and national governments, large and small businesses, judiciaries, and military services. Corruption affects both the poorest as well as the richest of countries. Mostly all the sectors are adversely affected by crime. Poorer countries predominantly suffer when multinational companies open businesses. The company profits really, and the host country gets a small amount paid as a tax by the company. Then, firms from rich countries bribe the rulers and employees from developing countries to gain export contracts. They exploit natural deposits of oil, copper, gold, diamonds, and other resources. The governors violate local and foreign rules and profit from it to keep themselves in power.

Conclusion

No one is perfect. Societies all around the world are under development since the beginning. The thought of creating an ideal land crosses many minds, but it's not that simple. It will not be possible until everyone plays his/her role fairly in their society. Every person should act the way they want the community to be. People think they have bad governments, but the governments are only as good as their people. So, we should take responsibility for our actions and figure out ways to mend the damage.