African nations regularly fall to the bottom of any list measuring economic activity, such as per capita income or per capita GDP, despite a wealth of natural resources. The bottom 25 spots of the United Nations (UN) quality of life index are regularly filled by African nations. In 2006, 34 of the 50 nations on the UN list of least developed countries are in Africa. In many nations, the per capita income is often less than $200 U.S. per year, with the vast majority of the population living on much less. In addition, Africa's share of income has been consistently dropping over the past century by any measure. In 1820, the average European worker earned about three times what the average African did. Now, the average European earns twenty times what the average African does. Although per capita incomes in Africa have also been steadily growing, and poverty falling, measures are still far better in other parts of the world, such as Latin America, which suffers from many of the same disadvantages that Africa has.
Africans should not blame Mr. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Britain, The World Bank, George W. Bush, the president of the United States of America, any western developed country or the United Nations for attempting to redress through the Commission for Africa report, and decades of imbalances and injustices visited on Africans by both African rulers and their western collaborators. It is this callous and wicked conspiracy that has brought the beautiful and virgin continent on her knees, largely impoverishing its people and turned them into beggars, crying babies and laughing stocks of the global community.
As an African, I have lost count of the number of times, my tummy has ached, and my senses insulted by the shocking im...
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...hat this is the era of accountability and transparency in the running of governmental affairs, the current generation of Africans is enlightened and empowered, and are capable of asking questions about their actions.
To conclude, Africans by default, willingly and unwillingly are Africa?s worst enemies like the Ghanaian proverb goes, ?the insect that bites you can be found in your cloth?.
References
? UN-OHRLLS List of Least Developed
? Founou-Tchuigoua, Bernard Food self-sufficiency: Crisis of the collective ideology African agriculture: The critical choices. United Nations University Press (1990) ISBN 0-86232-798-9
? World Commission on Protected Areas (1995-2006) WCPA West and Central Africa Region Key Issues The World Conservation Union
? Poverty in Africa from the World Bank
? Poverty In Africa And The Commission For Africa Report by Uche Nworah
Additionally, the leaders of America hold the view that Africa does not qualify for America’s national strategic interests. Consequently, the aspect of the debt repayment problem in most African countries confirms the schemes of the US in Africa. Herbert says, “…these are mostly illegitimate foreign debts, contracted during the Cold War by unrepresentative governments from Western creditors that sought to buy geopolitical loyalties, not to finance development in countries previously set back by Western colonialism…” (Herbert 63). The concern of prejudice across Blacks is real.
It has been estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations that 16 million people are currently at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition in the Sahel region of Northern Africa. This situation has arisen as a result of a range of factors including the environmental constraints and challenges of the savannah biome for food production and the increasing population of the Sahel. Addressing the issue of food security requires action on a
Poverty in Developing and Less Developed Countries The world includes less developed countries and developing countries. Less developed countries are countries considered to be poor and often contain many people who are in absolute poverty. Developing countries are countries like India, which are gaining in wealth. There are two types of poverty within the world.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
...e senseless and heartless government, which ruthlessly destroys the peaceful atmosphere in the villages. Africa will only reach its potential when everybody realizes the importance of preserving the cultural traditions.
African governments have given in to the whim’s of international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in social and health policies, and with this, has come a shift away from former emphasis on social justice and equitable market efficiency to public health services for all now being perceived as a major threat ...
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
Poverty. Imagine living on less than 2 dollars a day, having little to no education, being sick with diseases like cholera and HIV/AIDS, or having poor living conditions (Berrebi, D). Well, about 17,663,800 Kenyans live this nightmare according to a 2012 CIA study. Kenya, ranked the 39th poorest country in the world on a report by Global Finance Magazine, and countries like the U.S. along with organizations like The Borgen Project, and The Hunger Project are providing aid to help with reducing the number of people in poverty. The international aid to Kenya has reduced the number of people under that $2 threshold, but there have been negative impacts on the economy and financial corruption gets in the way of effective aid.
The overriding challenge Uganda faces today is the curse of poverty. Poverty, ‘the lack of something”(“Poverty.”), something can be materials, knowledge, or anything one justifies as necessary to living. Associated with poverty is the question of what causes poverty and how to stop poverty? The poverty rate in Uganda has declined from the year 2002 from the year 2009, which shows the percent of residents living in poverty has decreasing. Yet, the year is 2014 and the poverty rate could have drastically changed over the course of five years. One could assume the poverty rate would continue to decrease, which would be astounding and beneficial, but does poverty ever decrease enough to an acceptable level or even nonexistence? Poverty is a complex issue that continues to puzzle people from all across the globe. Poverty could possible be a question that is never truly answered.
In this paper I ask, how did slavery begin in Ghana? What impact did it have on Ghana? How badly is Ghana underdeveloped due to this enslavement that took place? Lovejoy, Northrup, and Rodney argue that the transatlantic slave trade did in fact contribute to the underdevelopment of Africa. I support their arguments and believe the trade didn’t exactly “destroy” Ghana, but it did affect it by not letting the country improve faster, although eventually Ghana was able to depart from that “underdeveloped” category.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, was one of the most controversial books in the world at the time of its release. The book seeks to argue that European exploitation and involvement in Africa throughout history. This is the cause of current African underdevelopment, and the true path to the development is for Africa to completely sever her ties with the international capitalist economy. Rodney describes his goal in writing the book in the preface: “this book derives from a concern with the contemporary African situation. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future” (vii). Rodney writes from a distinctly Marxist perspective by arguing that the inequalities inherent in European capitalism and required exploitation of certain countries in order to sustain capitalism.
Poverty is one of the greatest problems facing South Africa. South African families live in very unsatisfactory conditions. The South African government works hard to bring down the rate of poverty but it also seems to increase as they try.
As developed countries quench their thirsts for petrol, developing countries around the world are left behind, force to watch on without any help from the outside community. Being poor means to be disadvantaged in every single way. It means not being able to support yourself or your family or have the basic necessity to life. Without substantial help for these helpless people then we should be feeling guilty that we are living lives far better than what others are experiencing. Poverty may because by wars, disease or lack of education and infrastructure and the resulting consequences may be hunger, starvation, crime and ultimately death. If poverty is not eradicated then injustice will continue, increasing death tolls and lives.
Many people think of wars and catastrophes when they are asked to think about Africa. Could this perhaps be the media’s fault? Or is it the people's fault for believing only the bad things they've been told? Though Africa has had its fair share of tough times, it has also progressed as a continent. However, no one seems to be talking about its joyful moments. The article “Bright Continent” by Nicholas D. Kristof was read and examined as well as the video “A danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Bright Continent” focuses on telling the audience that the media is at fault for the way people view Africa. “A danger of a Single Story” shows the audience how people believe and make assumptions over one thing they hear about a person
Poverty is one of the greatest problems facing South Africa and it still remains very high. The following content will discuss Poverty. A brief overview of Poverty in South Africa will be discussed and the effects it has in South Africa. Education in South Africa will be discussed briefly, in terms of its issues. A description of how poverty influences the different business environments (micro, macro and market) of businesses in education will be discussed.