The Situation in Africa



Education:

The percentage of African communities with the access to adequate facilities and resources to obtain an education is miniscule, and education is one of the basic building blocks towards a better future.

Education not only creates sustainable opportunities for those in need, but also instils momentum. Consider the age old saying; "Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime".

Disease in Africa:

There are over 5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa alone - the highest density in world, with Nigeria in second place with almost 3 million.

According to the World Health Organisation, over 500 million people have serious contact with Malaria every year, and the disease is responsible for 20% of childhood deaths in Africa.

These devastating statistics are not showing any signs or recession, and health care issues are one of the most important steps in the road to improving the countries themselves.

Infrastructure:

Many African countries do not have a working infrastructure. Facilities such as waste management, water reserves and road or rail networks are either in disrepair or practically nonexistent and fundamental services such as health care are few and far between.

Third world debt cripples what little growth many of these countries might show. These basic functions of the country cannot be administered to without the funds to create sustainable investment projects.

The Gift of Water:

Water is a fundamentally essential requirement for every form of life on earth, and is extremely rare in large parts of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Drinking water and even water for boiling and basic sanitation are not available to a large percentage of the continent. Water is a rare commodity, and in Africa it means it creates a fine line of life and death, and a lack of water makes basic agriculture and irrigation impossible.

Seeing the Divide:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation is an evaluation of their total goods and services produced in the space of one year – an overall view of a country’s economic performance.

Most countries in Africa have a critically low GDP rating. Compare the 2006 GDP rating of Sierra Leone $1 443 (ranked number 154) against the United States rating of $13 000 000 (ranked number one).

Granted, these figures are determined as an overall figure and not in relation to their size or population, but the difference in total figures naturally highlights the difference between developing countries and their first world counterparts.

Alleviating Poverty in Africa

It is reassuring to know that all of these mammoth calamities do have at least some form of aid, and a growing awareness. Health, education and economic stability all have a number of international charity organisations aimed at alleviate the struggle. The problem is the extent of help that is at hand. These projects and charity organisations need to be supported if there’s to be any end to the problems.