Global Issues In Africa and around the World

Continent of extremes

Cities filled with wealth and poverty

Thinking about Food for Thought What is the per capita income for Africa? What is the energy usage? What is the infant mortality rate?

Global Issues and Crisis in Africa There are many crises occurring right now in Africa. *Note- these problems occur in other places also, but because Africa is poor – these issues seem worse.

Poverty Africa is a continent that has a great amount of poverty. Poverty means many people are lacking basic human needs: Food Water Sanitation Clothing Shelter health care education

Poverty Poverty is not the root cause of conflicts and problems in Africa, but an effect from several different problems. Today, more than300 million people in Africa live on less than $1 per day. More than 40% of Africans do not even have the ability to obtain sufficient food on a day-to-day basis. This is not a new situation, but has been the case for Africa for centuries. CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

Poverty Can’t they just move? Get a job? Can’t we fix this problem by giving Africa lots of money. No. There are several causes of poverty in Africa, and each problem requires its own solution. Look at the chart- According to this psychologist, you have to have each level of needs met, to get to the next level. If you have no food- that’s what you work for. If you have no safety, that’s what you work for.

Poverty Many people tend to think Africa is poor because they don’t have a lot of natural resources. Africa has many Natural Resources which are products of the earth that people use to meet their needs. LIST 5

Poverty- historic problem The problem isn’t a lack of resources, it is the misuse of resources b/c of 1.Imperialism Compared to the world, African nations have young governments. Historically, natural resources were overused and mismanaged Corrupt leaders have sold/used/misused many natural resources for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the people International businesses buy up large amounts of the resources from corrupt leaders and this also doesn’t benefit the people. 2.Border Problems: When Europeans left Africa, they drew new borders. These borders forced rival groups to be part of one country. This has caused many wars, genocides, and conflicts. Because of these rival conflicts, countries haven’t developed very good infrastructure (roads, running water, electricity) which only worsens many of Africa’s problems.

Hunger Hunger = not having enough to eat. World Hunger Stats Source: million people in the world do not have enough to eat. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 4 people are malnourished= not having enough food to live a healthy life. Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – that is 3.1 million children each year (think back to Food for Thought and Africa’s infant mortality) Malnourishment causes physical problems WATCH THIS VIDEO List 3-4 problems that malnourishment causes.

Hunger One of the major causes of hunger is poverty itself. Source: Globalissues.org

Causes of Hunger 1.Poverty trap- People cannot afford/don’t have access to food, seeds, land, water, education… In short, the poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty. 2.Climate and weather- Natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and long periods of drought make food production difficult. Also, a lot of the land isn’t arable/fertile. 3.Unstable Food Prices- The price of food products has been very unstable. Roller-coaster food prices make it difficult for the poor people to access nutritious food consistently.

Water Crisis Water. It is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by a billion of the world’s most vulnerable people—a crisis that threatens life and destroys livelihoods on a devastating scale. WATCH THIS VIDEO

Water Crisis Almost a billion people live without clean drinking water (that is 1 out of every 7 people in the world!). We call this the water crisis. What would that look like in the US? WATCH THIS VIDEO

Water Crisis It's a crisis because it only starts with water -- but water affects: Health Education Food security Lives of women and children. WATCH THIS VIDEO watch?v=fxyhfiCO_XQ

Disease in Africa Millions of Africans die every year from diseases that are easily curable. Most are “preventable” diseases because they can be prevented. Preventative diseases include… Infections- like flu or strep Respiratory infections- ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia. Pregnancy conditions- conditions affecting women or babies before, during and after childbirth. Nutritional deficiencies- disease from lack of food or malnutrition These conditions cause almost 30% of deaths in the world every year! Source:

WATCH THIS VIDEO List the top 3 disease in Africa Disease in Africa

Disease Breakdown by Age Many of these Preventative diseases are caused by poor sanitary conditions. Compared to the U.S.

Lack of Education There are many reasons African children lack formal education: 1 in 3 children in Africa do not complete school. There are no laws in Africa countries that require students to go to school. Education is not free in all countries. $$$$ The poor cannot afford tuition and textbooks. War and fighting prevent children from attending school. Natural disasters disrupt during periods of instability.

Lack of Education Extremists want to prevent students from going to school. WATCH THIS VIDEO Worldwide, there are more girls out of school than boys; for every 100 boys out of school, there are 117 girls. Why? Girls are expected to collect water Girls are expected to do chores around and take care of younger children in the family. In some cultures, men believe that you should not educate girls.

Education Why is Education important? Helps people rise from poverty promotes gender equality in society improve knowledge about health and nutrition Promotes opportunity for people to learn how to do higher level jobs. Increases globalization Source:

Conflict Diamonds Diamonds are mined many places around the world (mostly in Africa). No, this does NOT mean you can walk around and diamonds are all over the ground. They must be mined.

Conflict Diamonds Conflict diamonds are diamonds mined or sold in regions of Africa that are in “conflict.” Conflict in this case refers to: ruled by a dictator, a country in civil war, a country using slave labor. List 4 What generally happens is a group of “rebels” take over an area where diamonds can be mined.

Conflict Diamonds They the people living there (including the young children) to mine for diamonds all day every day. They treat them like slaves. There are horrible working conditions. Leaders often keep the people in chains and hold them at gun point. They might kill anyone who disagrees.

Conflict Diamonds They are famous for using amputations (cutting off people’s limbs hands or feet) to instill fear and keep order if these people aren’t working well enough. Often, they go further and harm the people’s children to insure they will obey. WATCH THIS VIDEO

Conflict Diamonds The “rebels” then sell those diamonds on the world market and use the money to buy more weapons to keep the process going. These diamonds are sometimes called “blood diamonds” for 2 reasons: 1. Blood is symbolic of the violence and bloodshed of those who are mining. 2. The sale of these diamonds pay for the wars and additional bloodshed of fighting. Since US citizens have learned about this, there have been many efforts to make sure we don’t buy conflict diamonds. This is called the Kimberly Process. WATCH THIS VIDEO

Child Soldiers The name explains it all they are soldiers that are children. Military leaders train and arm children to kill. Some children are kidnapped from their schools or homes. Some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered. Some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries. Child soldiers are found around the world. Use the map on the next page and name on country from Africa, South America and Asia.

Child Soldiers Here is a first hand story of a child who was forced to be a soldier Watch this Video Here is a story of a boy who chose to join the military. WATCH THIS VIDEO

What groups are using Child Soldiers? Pick ONE of these to watch. What is Al-Shabaab? WATCH THIS VIDEO What is Boko Haram? WATCH THIS VIDEO Who are they? (name/purpose) What country are the in? What threat to they pose?

Child Labor What is child labor? All forms of work by children under the age of 15 years old. There are 168 million children worldwide trapped in child labor, accounting for almost 11% of the overall child population: 100 million boys and 68 million girls. Around half are engaged in hazardous work. Nearly 60% of child labor takes place in agriculture. Forced labor is thought to generate around $150 billion a year in illegal profits.

Child Labor Why are these children being forced to work? Poverty is high, people will do anything for money. Access to free education is limited (which would put kids in school rather than work) Child labor laws are easy to break. Demand for goods are high in developed countries, a strong workforce is needed to produce the goods.

Child Labor- Dangerous Jobs

Child Labor- Map of common products