Poverty in Africa Free Essays

Africa – At the dawn of a new millennium, the continent that some say witnessed the birth of the first human civilizations — may be dying. As widespread drought, starvation and the unchecked spread of deadly diseases continue — the numbers of people dying on a daily basis throughout Africa is staggering. Causes of poverty in Africa In many parts of Africa, the production of food depends upon the intense manual labor of every family. We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty in Africa or any similar topic only for you Order Now When large areas of Africa are dislocated by war, or adults die from the scourge of AIDS, fields cannot be worked, and food cannot be produced. Many, especially women and children are forced to depend upon hand outs of food. Unpredictable weather can also aggravate the situation. The majority of the poor population in Western and Central Africa (about 100million people) are poor farmers who live in villages and farm just to feed themselves and their families. They depend mostly on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, about one in every five of these people live in a country affected by warfare. War destroys families and farms leaving most people with nothing at all but extreme poverty and starvation. Famine follows wars in most cases in Africa. poverty in Africa In conflict-torn countries such as Angola, Burundi, Mozambique, Liberia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Congo, Sierra Leon, and Uganda, the capacity of rural people to make a livelihood has been dramatically curtailed by warfare, and food production has plummeted. Lack of good drinking water Lack of good drinking water is another major problem in almost all African villages especially in desert countries like Niger, Sudan and Mali. Water is very scarce and lack of good drinking water is a major problem in Ethiopia and surrounding countries where most people and farm animals share same water sources. Children walk miles upon miles everyday to nearby streams to fetch water. Although there are many rivers and streams in the Western, Central, and Southern parts of Africa, good drinking water is a major problem in these areas. Most of the water sources in these areas are infested with water related diseases such as bilharzia, sleeping sickness, river blindness, guinea worm disease ( guinea worm disease is a major problem in Northern Ghana. 2010) and ofcourse malaria. Besides these, diseases such cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and pneumonia continue to kill children in record numbers. Facts of poverty in Africa: †¢315 million people – one in two of people in Sub Saharan Africa survive on less than one dollar per day †¢184 million people – 33% of the African population – suffer from malnutrition †¢During the 1990s the average income per capita decreased in 20 African countries †¢Less than 50% of Africa’s population has access to hospitals or doctors †¢In 2000, 300 million Africans did not have access to safe water †¢The average life expectancy in Africa is 41 years †¢Only 57% of African children are enrolled in primary education, and only one of three children complete school †¢One in six children die before the age of 5. †¢Children account for half of all civilian casualties in wars in Africa †¢The African continent lost more than 5,3 million hectares of forest during the decade of the 1990s How to Help our continent †¢Having more educated women with greater rights could make the single biggest positive difference to reducing poverty, the rate of childhood diseases and death and the spread of AIDS in developing countries. †¢Reduce child mortality Thirty years ago, one in five children in the world died before their fifth birthday. This has now been halved to less than one in ten. Better access to vaccinations and other basic health services and improved living standards have contributed to a steep decline in global deaths among infants and children over the past 30 years. †¢Improve maternal health Every year, more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Almost all of them would still be alive if they had access to a skilled midwife or doctor in childbirth and effective emergency care for women who have complications. †¢Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases In Africa, in 2003, some 26.6 million people were living with HIV, 3.2 million people became infected, and AIDS killed 2.3 million. †¢Develop a global partnership for development The targets in the global partnership for development millennium development goal include a fairer trading and financial system. Getting rid of barriers to trade could lift almost 300 million people in the developing world out of poverty. How to cite Poverty in Africa, Essay examples Poverty in Africa Free Essays Poverty in Africa More than 800 million people fall asleep starving every day, and 300 million of those 800 are only children. Poverty is a global crisis, something that affects many in a horrible way. â€Å"Poverty is going empty, with no hope for the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty in Africa or any similar topic only for you Order Now Poverty is like watching your mother father, brothers and sisters die in pain and in sorrow just because they couldn’t get something to eat. † Poverty has been around for ages, and will always be around. It is always there and will always be a problem. It could have been avoided, and can be treated if we follow the Gospels. The Gospels have many parables and teachings about the poor, and we can link that to poverty today. Poverty affects many children in Africa. In Africa 40 to 70% of the population lives in slums, and the child mortality rate in those slums is 65% higher. The children in these slums live a terrible life. Here in Canada, we have houses and apartments, condos and duplexes; all of these living conditions are fine. Some people complain their house is too small, or they have to share a room. Imagine having no room to share or no house at all. When people complain about having a small house, they should imagine living in an overcrowded shack with no floors, no water, and no electricity. People in Africa have to live in those shacks. The church teaches us many helpful things. Jesus stands on side of the poor, and so must we. If we all put the needs of the poor in front of our own needs, we would not have children starving to death in Africa. The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-30) is about a man that asks Jesus for eternal life, and what he will have to do to get it. Jesus asks tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, the man sighs. Jesus also tells the man to follow the 10 commandments. The religious truth is to follow the 10 commandments and to be kind, and donate to the poor. The Judgement of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46) is about the Lord separating the good people from bad. He tells the good thank-you for caring about him, and he tells the bad they did not help him. Both groups question and say they did nothing to him. God then says the good people did something for the poor, and the bad people did nothing for the poor. The religious truth in this is to treat the poor as if they are God. Poverty is a huge problem and it can be treated, and could have been avoided. If we followed the Gospels, and we followed what God told us to do, we wouldn’t have this problem. People are very ignorant, and think for themselves. If we all gave 5% of our pay checks to starving children it would make a huge difference. Even if everyone follows the 10 commandments, poverty would improve. The world is full of billions and billions of people live in the world today, and if even a third of those billions tried to help poverty we would see a difference. People need to start thinking about the poor more. We should all treat the poor, as if they are God. We should act as if each of those starving children we’re a piece of God. If someone saw God starving and in pain, they would help him. With poverty, it should be the same way. We should see people who are hungry, or even know of people who are hungry, and we should help them in some way. The Gospels teach us this, and many people read the Gospels, so why don’t people do it. People should do what the Gospel’s say and we would have a lot less people who are dying, and starving. How to cite Poverty in Africa, Papers