November 3, 2011: Baby Nargis Yadav, born in a clinic in northern India, is one of 500,000 infants whose birth on Monday, October 31, brought the world’s population to seven billion, according to United Nations measures.

Earth’s population more than doubled over the last fifty years, a trend that is worrying development experts. With demand for food and water already under severe pressure, sustaining a projected additional two to three billion people in the next half-century—including babies like Nargis—will be difficult, say researchers.

Born in one of India’s poorest states, Uttar Pradesh, Nargis’s chances for a bright future are limited by circumstances, small and large, that are beyond her control. According to AlertNet, her parents are villagers with an income of just over $100 a month.

"Getting proper nutritional food, clean drinking water, and even basic medical care such as immunizations to help her survive the first few years will be challenging," Sona Sharma, director for advocacy and communications at the Population Foundation of India, told AlertNet.

Reaching UN Millennium Development Goals For Children

The seven-billion population count underscores the importance of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations more than a decade ago. The eight MDGs, which include halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, and providing universal primary education--all by 2015—have been a catalyst for nations to take concrete actions to meet the needs of poor residents like Nargis and her family.

Making substantive progress on attaining the MDGs is key for the well-being of children like Nargis.  A majority of the estimated billion plus people living below the poverty line are children. Goals that promote health, quality education, and protection against abuse and exploitation are especially relevant to vulnerable boys and girls.

A young girl is provided with a warm meal at the SOS Social Center in Haiti.

While nations work to strengthen their safety net for unaccompanied children, SOS Children’s Villages provides family-based care, love, an education, and a supportive community to children traumatized by poverty, war, or disease.

Against the backdrop of an ever expanding population that will put more stress on global resources, SOS creates warm homes for AIDS orphans, sends to school children who’ve never seen a classroom, and provides medical care for kids who would die without it. You can help SOS provide these things by making a generous donation today.