Illiteracy is a critical problem that affects all corners of the earth, it has no boundaries and exists among every race and ethnicity, age group, and economic class. This silent epidemic threatens over 785 million adults worldwide; one in five adults is still not literate with two-thirds of them being women.

Over two-thirds of the non-literate adults populate the following countries: India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt. Staggering numbers show that India alone has over 440 million illiterate citizens. Extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where one-third of the men and half of the women are illiterate. Africa, as a whole continent, has less than a 60% literacy rate.

Although 98% of non-literate persons reside in the poorer areas of the world, it should not overshadow the fact that illiteracy is a growing problem in even the wealthiest of nations, like the US. The Department of Education conducted a survey in 1992 called the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), which revealed an excessively high rate of illiteracy and low literacy in the US. This survey disclosed that almost 23% of Americans, about 40 million, display literacy skills in the lowest level of proficiency. In 2002 another NALS survey was conducted and speculators believe that it will reveal even worse rates, including the appalling 36% of working adults literacy rate of DC (Mr. Natwar Gandhi the CFO of the District of Columbia)

Illiteracy is not a daily issue for the majority of sufferers. In fact, most people are able to function throughout their every day lives with little to no trouble. Unfortunately, the problems associated with being non-literate take place at the more critical parts of life such as, applying for a loan, signing a contract, or understanding medical instructions.

The Center for Health Care Strategies explains that people with low literacy are less likely to understand directions by physicians, read and understand prescriptions, or be able to navigate the health system to get needed services. CHCS studied 212 men and concluded that health literacy was a better predictor than race or age of advanced prostate cancer.

Health literacy is the extent to which a person can read and comprehend directions and prescriptions given by a physician. People with low health literacy are 12 to 18 times more likely to confuse their medical regimen and therein more likely to suffer further affliction.

Unlike the developed world, which greatly emphasizes the importance of education, third world countries are faced with an array of other urgent problems that take preeminence. Issues such as a growing national debt, increased poverty, and unemployment shift the government’s focus and overshadow the importance of national literacy.

Literacy remains an elusive target with almost a billion adults lacking the minimum reading skills.. The Human Development Index (HDI) is inversely proportional to literacy rates: the top nineteen countries claim 99% literacy and above. The bottom seventeen countries range from literacy rates of 23% to 68%. Poverty and burden of disease correlate directly with illiteracy and low literacy. Life expectancy is lowest where people cannot read.

Illiteracy is a potentially life-threatening problem that continues to jeopardize health all over the globe. It is an illness that does not present an apparent fatal hazard making it especially dangerous because it tends to be left behind.

Although interpersonal relationships are the most desired means of caring for the non-literate it is not reasonable considering the price of sustaining each person. The most cost-efficient means of educating people today is through written pamphlets and brochures, but experts are now seeing the ineffectiveness of these considering the global illiteracy problem. The need has now arisen for a new form of communication and instruction that can instill knowledge in all peoples, literate or not.

• 50% of adults cannot read a book written at an 8th grade level
• 20% of Americas are functionally illiterate and read below a 5th grade level.
• Nearly half of all Americans read so poorly that they cannot find a single piece of information when reading a short publication.

• 3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read
• 20% of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage
• 50% of the unemployed people who fall between the ages 16 and 21 cannot read well enough to be considered functionally literate.
• Between 46 to 51 percent of American adults have an income well below the individual threshold poverty level because of their inability to read.

• 3 out of 5 people in an American Prison can’t read.
• 85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading.
• Roughly 50% of Americans read so poorly that they are unable to perform simple tasks like balancing a checkbook and reading prescription drug labels.
• To determine how many prison beds will be needed in future years, some states actually base part of their projection on how well current elementary students are performing on reading tests.
  

• Illiteracy costs American taxpayers an estimated $20 billion each year.
• Illiteracy has been proven to cause children to drop out of school. Dropouts cost the nation $240 billion in social service expenditures and lost tax revenues.