What went wrong in Africa? and what is going on?
This is a puzzle that every (concerned) development economist, every (concerned)
development institution, every humanitarian organization and policy maker should take time
to think about.
Evaluations of past economic performances,
analysis of current trends and future projections almost say one and the same thing about
Africa: relatively bad economic performance and growth achievements, low and declining
living standards of the population, a continent with leaders who seem to have committed
themselves to fight with each other than to fight poverty and diseases. Many studies have
been carried out about past achievements and future projections of African economies. They
always conclude that ' ... with in Africa, those that did this and that have performed
better .... and there still is hope for the whole of Africa if this is done this way,
etc., etc. Of course, the continent does have hope if things are done the right way. It
doesn't appear to be clear how the present bleak generalizations about Africa and Africans
can be changed into a rosy scenario. One thing is clear, though: Africa needs
a united effort from all sides to solve its numerous problems. It is the greatest challenge
of development to date, and a shameful failure on the part of humankind. Issues related to
the issues facing the continent today are not only economic and political but also humanitarian; the world
must give it greater attention with a new feeling of partnership.
Almost all indicators of quality of life
at present tell that Africa is the worst place to live in --- may be considered an economic hell on
the earth. Some of the indicators, for example, include:
- A population explosion that outstrips growth performance
- A per capita income which is low even by LDCs standards
- High and rising number (and proportion) of population below poverty line
- High infant and gross mortality rate mainly due to preventable diseases,
malnutrition, unsafe drinking water, etc.
- Twenty-one of the 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by conflict which
undermines development efforts.
- Ten times as many people died of AIDS in Africa last year as were killed
on all the continent's wars combined.
- Nowhere in the world today are more people dying needlessly from
starvation, disease and conflict than in Africa, deaths not caused by acts of fate but by
acts of man, bad governance, factional rivalries, state- sponsored theft and corruption.
- Also nowhere in the world are more people being left behind on the wrong
side of a growing digital and educational divide, children denied the opportunities that
will transform the lives of their contemporaries elsewhere in the world.
Also, Africa is the worst hit region
with HIV infection and AIDS. According to estimates, AIDS today in Africa is killing more
people than the sum total of all wars, famine, floods and even malaria, and because of
AIDS, life expectancy in some African countries could be reduced to 30 years soon, and in
several of the hardest-hit countries, life expectancy has already been sharply curtailed.
Related to this, studies revealed new evidence on the significant impact of
AIDS on economic growth, and the close link between poverty and AIDS. In the hardest-hit
countries of southern Africa, research now indicates that national wealth will be reduced
by 15-20 percent over the next 10 years as a result of HIV/AIDS.
Paradoxically, the indicators have not shown a
significant improvement for the last few decades despite an increasing awareness about
Africa's challenging economic problems and various efforts to grapple with them both
by domestic policymakers and international efforts such as by various NGOs as well as
multilateral and bilateral donors.
On the other hand, developing countries of
other regions have been able to reverse the level of quality of life of their people.
Countries of south and South and Southeast Asia have been able to improve a lot thanks to domestic
policies and favorable external environment (despite the recent crises). The question that
comes here, then, is 'what does Africa lack that those regions have?' and 'what really
went wrong in Africa?'. As it goes, no matter how far they have gone, if these
economies are in the wrong direction, they should make a U-turn! Are there
things that are going on the wrong direction in Africa?
Also today:
 |
Gender and
Poverty in our world: |
... and we seem to be celebrating as if we are victorious!! |
|
We might have done our best, but compared to the current situation of those we are trying to help, we really have nothing to celebrate!!
Let's admit that we have failed to achieve impressive results relative to the need
in the development and poverty alleviation agenda, particularly in the case of Africa. The
good thing is, we seem to be learning, though v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y. It took us more than
half a century to admit that poverty alleviation should be tackled using a
multidimensional, integrated approach... It took us decades to admit that inclusion of
communities at the grassroots level is necessary for poverty alleviation and development
efforts to bear fruit. Let's also be flexible and admit that we just don't have to
'impose' our theoretically vague, mathematically complex, jargon-rich policy prescriptions
to tell developing countries how wrong they are currently doing. Let's communicate with
them in their own words. We have done too much theory, yet a lot remains to be understood.
But, let's also start action to implement the least we know currently.
As Max Lucado put it (in And the Angels Were
Silent), 'The people who make a difference are not the ones with the
credentials, but the ones with the concern'. I only partially agree with
this. Of course, concern is more important. But, if there are at least few with both the
credentials and the concern, they are the ones with the effective instrument to make a
difference. African professionals therefore will have a significant role to play in this
regard .. as I believe that they have both the credentials and the concern.
The primary purpose of this page is to serve as
a central information source for economic researchers, investors, historians, tourists as
well as policymakers about AFRICA. The information will include statistical data,
research and papers done on African economies, investment and stock-market operations in
Africa, African News, African cultural heritage, etc. The reason that pushed us to
initiate this page is the fact that, despite the recent attention towards Africa by donors,
as well as investors, and despite an increasing interest from researchers on African
issues, the primary impediment remains to be data and information availability. The other
side of the same problem is that even the existing data and information is not effectively
used effectively because of a lack of awareness of its existence and its fragmented location. This homepage is a
start to gather such fragmented information, and constantly update it to enable users to make
the best use out of it. Everybody is encouraged to help us improve the site for the
benefit of all. If you have comments or suggestions, please send us email.
We believe that one day, this site will be able
to provide a complete and timely information and data about the AFRICAN continent.
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