Challenges facing Africa

The African continent is one of the richest in the world in terms of mineral resources and if the dream project of the Africa Continent Free Trade can be realised, the Africa region can become the biggest trading bloc in the world. At the same time, the continent is faced with a plethora of socio-economic maladies and political bushfires than any other continent. On the other hand, this is a continent of great potential and such potentialities are seldom covered by the media.

In actual fact as Dr Cesar Chelala has realised, there are two Africas: one, normally portrayed in the media, a land of poverty, disease, and war. And another Africa: a vital, energetic continent of hardworking men and women, a continent of beautiful children and young men and women, a continent of humour, and a continent of hope. In fact, Chelala asks a very pertinent question on how can one explain that a continent so rich in natural resources and people of entrepreneurial nature is in such dire straits? Even though I fully agree with Chelala that the reason why the continent is in this quagmire can be attributed to the political rascality and inept attitude of African leadership, one must also acknowledge a history of predatory colonialism that has caused the continent to stagnate. As the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.”

There is also the effect of international trade that has contributed to the sad state of affairs in the continent. In more than half a century, Africa has received as much as $1.2 trillion, distributed unevenly across the continent. This enormous sum has been tainted by paternalistic policies instead of helping the countries create strong civilian and governmental institutions, infrastructure, and develop their natural resources. This is confirmed by Dambisa Moyo, a renowned international economist and an expert on African affairs that the money from rich countries has trapped many African nations in a cycle of corruption, slower economic growth, and poverty. Cutting off the flow would be far more beneficial.

Seventy percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is under the age of 30, and over 60% of the unemployed are also young, although many of them work in the informal sector. Because of Africa’s few employment opportunities, the number of available jobs for young people is limited. Many people are unable to find the funding needed to start a business, a situation made more difficult because almost two-thirds of those looking for jobs live in rural areas. This is even so that well-respected international institutions such as UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have recommended that governments, international financial agencies, and the private sector develop policies to create jobs and ease youth transition from school to work. Many young people remain in poverty because of a lack of jobs and of a social safety net.

In addition to economic and employment concerns, the health situation in African countries continues to be worrisome. To problems such as malnutrition and chronic diseases, one can now add the highly infectious and deadly Marburg virus. Marburg has recently killed some people in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, on opposite sides of the continent. Most African countries’ health infrastructure - although much improved after the HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19 epidemics - will probably be unable to contain the virus if it becomes a largescale epidemic. The Malburg virus is a serious human security challenge that demands effective and timely interventions.

Many diseases affecting both children and adults could be addressed with minimum resources if they were employed strategically. Diarrhoea and respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and malnutrition represent the greatest threats to children’s health. Malaria is the leading cause of death among African children under five years old. In addition, it is estimated that African women are approximately 175 times more likely to die during childbirth and pregnancy than women in industrialised countries.

Health problems are made worse by the lack of health professionals, a problem due in part to the continuing exodus of doctors and nurses to industrialised nations such as the United Kingdom. Health problems are aggravated by the scarcity of drinking water. High mortality rates in Africa arise from preventable water-borne diseases, which particularly affect infants and young children. Among them are typhoid fever, cholera, giardia, dysentery, and hepatitis A. If people in Africa were able to practice safe sanitation and hygiene, and have potable water, those diseases would not exist. Faced with these socio-economic challenges one may ask how Africa can be helped to address the challenges. Chelala states that in the last two decades, China has been providing aid to several African countries and argues that unlike the one provided by other countries, aid from China has been centered on building infrastructure including roads, schools, stadiums, and health centres. By using mainly Chinese personnel in their projects, Chelala says China has had a tighter control over how the funds are spent and that this is a critical factor in a continent of widespread corruption where foreign aid is often squandered.

Chelala is right when he points out that as a result of mismanagement, foreign aid to the region has not achieved the expected results and to be effective, aid must bypass corrupt governments and find local partners such as non-governmental and religious organisations with a proven track record of efficiency and honesty. It is not an exaggeration that in many countries that are recipient of aid in Africa, there are no mechanisms to monitor how aid money is spent.

As a parting shot, one can safely argue that for too many years, Africa has been a photo-op for movie and music stars, whose patronising behaviour disregards Africans’ capacity for solving their own problems. Given the right conditions, Africans have the talent and knowledge to lead their countries toward greater development. The US and other international partners have the chance to focus their efforts to help build infrastructure vital to the progress of African countries, something that China has been doing for decades. Competition with China, however, should not be a competition for war but for peace and progress. Now is the time for African countries to develop their enormous potential for growth.