Flags of information

[andrewducker]

And several more here

Comments

[atreic.livejournal.com]

They're very pretty, and concious raising is definitely a good thing, but they're not actually true, are they? Some random site I googled suggests that there are 39 million people with AIDS, out of a world population of 6600 million. 5 in every 1000 people is a tragedy, but it's not Angola. Likewise google suggests there are around 500 million cases of malaria a year, so suggesting it's a problem of the same scale as AIDS when it's in fact an order of magnitude bigger also seems a bit misleading.

Am I missing the point? Should it be enough that they are pretty and witty, draw attention to genuine issues, and make people think about helping those less well off than them? Why does it leave a nasty taste in my mouth as though I have been lied to?

(Oh, and the key on the EU flag says something different than the zoomed in key. But I _think_ it might just be the same thing in a foreign language. I can't quite make it out)

[andrewducker]

I was assuming that the values were true in the country the flag represented. So that percentage of people in Angola have AIDS/Malaria.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

Angola AIDS stats:

"Official statistics put the prevalence rates of HIV/Aids in the former Portuguese colony (Angola) at between five and seven percent, well below other countries in the region that have infection rates of between 20 and 30%. Health experts say the infection rate is lower in Angola than in its neighbours because a 27-year civil war, which ended in April 2002, kept foreigners away and limited travel within the country of some 13 million. "

"Limited information on HIV seroprevalence in Angola is available. There has been little surveillance among women attending antenatal care clinics (ANC) during the past decade. The latest available ANC surveillance data are from 2002. HIV prevalence in Luanda was 4.6%, ranging from 2.6% to 8.0% in the different sites. The HIV prevalence among women attending ANC was 0.8% in Malange, 1.4% in Huila, 1.5% in Lunda-Sul, 3.2% in Benguela, and 3.3% in Cabinda province. Among 864 sex workers aged 15-45 years, HIV prevalence was 32.8% in 2001. Among the 1000 military personnel tested in Luanda in 2001, HIV prevalence was 3.2%. Given the limited amount of data available, it is difficult to ascertain recent trends. In Luanda, the major urban area, HIV infection rates among ANC women increased from 0.3% in 1986 to 0.7% in 1992, 3.4% in 1999, and 4.6% in 2002. HIV prevalence among ANC women in Cabinda province had been between 6% and 8% during 1992-1996 compared to 3.3% in 2002."

Malaria stats:

"Angolan newspapers recently named malaria the country's number one killer. In the capital city Luanda, eight out of 10 residents seek medical aid for the mosquito-inflicted disease, according to the Angolan Health Directorate."

"n Angola malaria is the major public health problem and the primary cause of morbidity and mortality. Malaria is endemic, ranging from hyper-endemic in the north and along the coastal-low lands to meso-endemic and hypo-endemic in the central high lands and the south. Annually 1.4-2 million clinical cases and about 11,000 malaria deaths are reported. Malaria accounts for 35% of overall mortality in children and 25% of overall maternal mortality and is the cause of 60% of hospital admission of children under five years and 10% of pregnant women. "

Population of Angola is about 10 million.

So that's about 20% with malarya, about 5% with HIV. Horrible horrible statistics, but nothing like that flag.

[andrewducker]

Fair enough - looks like the disparity is greater than I thought. Looks like they're just symbolic then.