Poverty in Africa

Africa, despite its vast wealth of resources is the poorest continent. It is home to 34 of the world's 50 least developed countries and the vast majority of people live on less than $200/year. It is a continent wracked with hunger, disease, unrest and war. With little emphasis on education, chronically low literacy levels, devastated economies and erratic weather, the poverty cycle continues, year on year, unabated.

The effects of poverty are manifold. Most immediately, poverty translates as a low GDP per capita. This means that most individuals in poor African countries have an extremely low standard of living and thus, quality of life. Many people are hungry and competition for resources such as land and water results in conflict. Consumer goods like televisions and motor vehicles, taken for granted in more developed countries, are considered rare luxuries. Indicators such as high infant mortality and incidence of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS bear testimony to the appalling conditions existent in many countries.

Why are Africans Starving?

Africa is home to a wealth of natural resources, making it difficult to superficially determine why it is in its current state. Indeed, the reasons are complex and multifaceted and while many leaders and countries play the blame game, no single factor can be held accountable for Africa's quandary. Certainly, the colonisation of Africa by European countries played a significant role. Artificial boundaries drawn arbitrarily by ruling nations, the subversion of entire populations and the pillaging and theft of natural resources have all had long term effects on Africa and her people. Decolonisation, with its shift in focus, inadvertently reinforced the patterns laid down by the systems if its predecessor and engendered worse conditions. Today, many factors are in play to worsen the situation.

Overpopulation is a major concern in many African countries, largely as a result of couples having larger families to assist in agricultural production. This intensifies pressure on the land and resources as well as degrading the natural environment on which many societies rely for survival. In the same vein, land mismanagement in many African countries has led to a lack of food security and a dependence on exotic crops that rely on scarce resources such as water to grow successfully.

While numerous developed countries, as well as organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank, provide direct aid to African countries in need, corruption, political instability and enormous debts result in financial mismanagement of the funds. The same is true of income derived form the sale of natural resources. Disease is rife and spreads rapidly in the poor living conditions. HIV affects a huge proportion of the population while water borne disease account largely for infant and child mortality rates. In addition, many countries have degraded or non-existent systems of infrastructure that do little to support flailing administration structures. Finally, conflicts over power and resources threaten the very fabric of African societies and result in daily tragedy.

A Silver Lining: African Charity Organisations Doing Their Bit for Development

Despite the depressing reality that constitutes the state of many African countries, there is also a silver lining. Vast numbers of African charity organisations and projects make meaningful contributions to development on a daily basis, in an attempt to improve living conditions and quality of life in less developed nations. While some are broad and support needy people with an array of problems, other organisations are more specific and target certain societal groups or areas of need. Some of theses areas include:

Agriculture and Food Gardens

Many an African charity organisation will target this development sector. Sustainable agricultural projects can go a long way toward uplifting a community, because through skills development, people become better able to feed themselves. This reduces their need for welfare and increases their self-sufficiency by providing a possible means to earn an income.

HIV/AIDS

Because many countries lack the infrastructure to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis with sufficient zeal, numerous African charity organisations make this their focus. Projects usually take a two prong approach and in addition to targeting the prevention of the disease, they are also involved in improving the lives of those living with the disease.

Child Care and Education

Those involved in African charity organisations realise that children are the most vulnerable and marginalised group in African societies. Their exposure to risk is thus higher and many grow up without the basic amenities necessary for survival. By providing these as well as education, charities are helping to ensure that Africa's children have a future. And a brighter one at that.

Unemployment

Employment is integral if the poverty cycle is to be broken, because it provides societies with a means to earn an income. However, employment is dependent not only on the availability of jobs, but on whether the applicants have to skills to do it properly. Thus a bilateral approach is necessary to overcome the unemployment crisis. African Charity Organisations involved in this sector realise that skills development projects are the first step, and job creation ventures follow closely behind.

African charity organisations target these needs as well as many others, and provide the necessary hand-up that many societies need to better themselves. These organisations are the backbone of development in countries where governments lack the capacity to incite meaningful change. However, charities also suffer from a shortage of resources and rely on both corporate and individual donors to fund their work. Without these funds, they would be unable to run and there would be no one left to turn the tide on Africa demise.