Liverpool is one of the most important and popular cities in England. It citizens come from varied and different backgrounds belonging to different nationalities and ethnic groups. The major part population consists of white British. The citizens of Liverpool have traditionally been known for their hospitality and tolerance but the traits have dwindled and decreased over the years. Still, the citizens of the city are considered welcoming and intelligent since a huge chunk of population is literate.
As a city in England, Liverpool enjoys one of the most successful forms of democratic governments in the world. The parliamentary form of government in place allows citizens of Liverpool like any other city of the country to choose their own representatives to City Corporation, state government and federal or central government too. Derek Hatton is one of the most distinguished and famous politicians cum businessmen from Liverpool. He gained prominence and importance in Liverpool in 1980s and later went on to represent the city council as a deputy leader. He was a controversial figure too and was accused of corruption charges, which could not be established though.
Liverpool faces number of challenges as a city or a community. The latest economic recession took a toll on city’s economic health and its unemployment has increased over the years. Moreover, the city faces excess traffic woes and increased pollution levels. It is one of the few British cities where apartheid or racism is still practiced. Drugs are also a major issue in Liverpool and a good chunk of its youth population is into drug abuse. The city aims to get back on the path of economic growth soon, it has been trying to fight unemployment by generating jobs and aims to bring it down to significantly lower levels. The city council aspires to make the city more tolerant, just and healthy and it has made slow and steady progress towards these goals and ambitions.
With the population of just under half a million, it is ranked as the 3rd largest city of United Kingdom as per the latest population estimates. The population of the city has grown steadily over the last decade. The majority of its population lies in the age brackets 30 and 49, and 10 and 10 and 19 and thus it has one of the youngest citizenry in England.
Liverpool is a true cosmopolitan city with people from different regions and parts of the world and disparate races residing in it. It is a home to many ethic groups with White British forming the majority. Other ethic groups, which form important part of Liverpool’s population, are White Irish, Asian or Asian British, Black or Black or Black British and Chinese. Its citizens constitute of all major religions found across the globe.
The citizens of Liverpool enjoy some of the finest and best healthcare facilities in the country but there are some concerns with respect to the important health and wellness indicators of the city. Liverpool’s life expectancy is far below in the national life expectancy for both males and females. While the men in the city can expect to live until 74.5 as against the national average of man, which stands at 77.9, the scenario for women is far gloomy. Liverpool women’s life expectancy is indeed UK’s worst, a shameful feat in itself. As against the national average of 89, it scores a lowly 79.2 when it comes to women’s life expectancy. This fact casts a serious shadow on the women health in Liverpool. Liverpool, though, treats its babies well. According to the 2000 data it had the best figures for infant mortality rate among the major cities in UK. Liverpool recorded the Infant Mortality rate of 5.36 per thousand deaths while the average of ten 10 main cities including Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds stood at 7.75 per 1000 deaths.
The five most important and severe challenges that Liverpool faces are as listed below:
- Drug Abuse: Liverpool is infamous for the high prevalence of drug abuse. It is one of the few UK cities where the drugs problem is really severe and needs an urgent attention. Right from alcoholism to other serious drugs like Marijuana, Heroin, and Cocaine, drugs are a spiraling issue, which has hit the image of the city globally.
- Apartheid or Racism: Liverpool is notoriously known practicing apartheid or racism. It is believed and has been established by reports that Blacks and non-whites face hard times in Liverpool. They are discriminated against and are kept at disadvantage with respect to white British; though the trend has declined it is still not eradicated.
- High Unemployment: Unemployment, quite like other cities in UK, has increased considerably in Liverpool. Job creation has been slow and largely insufficient to accommodate the high number of unemployed people. It has one of the worst employment figures in UK with total worklessness in Liverpool accounting for 21% of its population compared to 12.3% of the Great Britain.
- Traffic Woes: Off Late with increase in population, Liverpool’s traffic infrastructure has largely proved insufficient. The traffic woes have worsened with increase in the number of private vehicles and resultantly the quality of environment has also suffered due to increase in the pollution levels. Traffic jams have become a regular feature. The city needs to work towards its increasing traffic problems.
- Child and Family Poverty: Liverpool has been trying to fight Child and Family poverty for years but with little success. Though various government-sponsored programs have been launched in recent years to fight the issue, it has met little or no success. The eradication of child poverty is one of the many primary aims of Liverpool city region cabinet.
Though, all the issues mentioned are of grave and serious concern. Drug abuse has emerged as a major issue for the city and has impacted the image and health of its citizens. The drug abuse and availability in the city has become too common and ha claimed many lives. It is estimated that almost 1.5% of the city’s population is into Injection of drugs and even higher population is involved in oral consumption. Many regions in Liverpool have been branded as ‘no-go’ zones due to increase in number of drug abuse cases and presence of drug gang members. Recently, UN narcotics chief compared Liverpool to Brazil and Mexico for its ‘no-go’ areas. This indeed represents and pictures the sorry state of Liverpool drugs and its abuse in Liverpool.
The tackling of problem requires strong political will and even stronger support by the citizens of Liverpool. The city must aim at complete eradication of the menace of drug abuse to ensure a safer and healthier environment and city for its citizens.
It requires widespread education of youth about the perils and effects of drug abuse and the possible health related problems it could lead too. The civic authorities and police need to increase vigilance and take steps to stop drugs inflow into the city and to put a full stop to the prospering drugs business and gang culture in the city. Various Governmental and Non-Governmental organizations with support from the citizens need to campaign vigorously against the problem and play a proactive role in its eradication.
There have to be proper check about the efficiency and success of such methods, if implemented. Regular citizen surveys should be conducted to check the awareness levels. Data should be collected and monitored with respect to the issue of drug abuse to check the decrease in the number of abusers and slide in the extent of problem. The steps with proper monitoring can only yield desired results.
The donated amount of $50,000 would go a great deal in fighting some of the issues that the city faces. It can be used to educate people about the problems of drug abuse and racism. Half of this amount should be spent on extensive adverts, and materials which could be distributed through different and varied channels to create an anti-drugs and anti-racism atmosphere.
The remaining amount could be used to set up a state of the art rehabilitation center for those suffering due to drug abuse, This would not only help them lead a normal and happy life but would also go a great deal in ensuring that these people are empowered and job-ready when they recover. A drug abuser often becomes a threat to the society since he/she indulges in anti social activities and crimes. This would have multiple benefits for the citizens since it would not only ensure that drug abuse and racism are checked but also that crime and criminals are discouraged. The long-term effect of this would be a fair, equal, just, safe and drugs free society and city and that is what this money could accomplish.
References
Bartlett, David (2012). Liverpool’s Population stands at 466, 400 after 5.5% growth in
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Doyle, Jack (2012). A tale of two cities. Mail Online, Retrieved April 20, 2013, from
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107552/Manchester-Liverpool-
Birmingham-areas-drugs-gangs--just-like-Mexico-Brazil.html
Liverpool City Council (2013). Population Data. Liverpool.co.uk, Retrieved April 20,
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http://liverpool.gov.uk/council/key-statistics-and-data/data/population/
Melvin Chris, Millar Tom (2009). Overcoming the economic challenge: How resilient is
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