Poverty in Africa, a Major Global Concern

By Shalini Madhav

Poverty in Africa does not only refer to the lack of luxuries and fine things that the people of developed and many developing nations possess today, but the situation in Africa is way deeper and uglier than what one suspects it to be. Poverty in Africa in its truest sense means, even the lack of basic amenities such as clean drinking water, sanitization and enough food to survive. As a fun fact, an average European citizen earns three times of what an average African does by burning all his sweat, blood and with it, the dreams of a better life.

REASONS FOR THE ABJECT POVERTY

Now one may think that Africa, which is a naturally endowed place with such a fertile arable land that is full of naturally occurring gems, such as exquisite emeralds and blindingly splendid diamonds should be the richest place on the earth then, where are they exactly going wrong?

The reason, simply lies in the mismanagement of their land and resources. Major portions of their land lies with the deceased European ancestors and the native Africans are merely workers there. A study shows that more than 82% arable land in South Africa is owned by European descendants who used to employ the natives to do farming.

Even when African nations are given aids by developed countries such as US, their government uses it to acquire more weapons and war craft or to pay off their never ending debts instead of providing basic amenities to its citizens and improve their state of living.

Another reason that leads to the exploitation of labor in Africa is the ease of availability of the same. When an employer can find a cheap and enthusiastic young man who is ready to do the same job for lesser bucks as compared to his senior counterpart, why will anyone turn such a potential employee away? In such a scenario, it is essential that their government sets some basic minimum wages to be paid to each labor and the law should be enforced with strictness as well to change the state of their workforce for better.

EFFECTS OF POVERTY IN AFRICA

There are various ill effects of the never-ending poverty in Africa.

One of the foremost concerns of African nations is the emergence and widespread of various diseases. Most of the people dying in Africa are due to water-born and airborne diseases, yet there are no adequate steps taken by their government to ensure better medical facilities or low-cost treatments. Another cause of concern in Africa is the widespread of sexually transmitted diseases due to the lack of awareness and rigid practices of tribal communities. As per a study, 3000 Africans die each day due to AIDS.

Amongst other things to worry about, Africa remains a hot spot for wars both civil wars and also the conflicts between the countries.

Also, their monsoon-climate leads to a lot of natural disasters causing loss of life, agricultural land and livestock. However, the effects of natural disasters can easily be controlled through better management by their countrymen and a little awareness.

That's all for today, hope this made you think at least once about the people who are less fortunate than us and be thankful for the wonderful lives that we are blessed with.

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