Problems after Independence By 1980 most of Africa was free from European rule. However, many of the newly independent countries are facing many problems.

Key Vocabulary Civil War: A war between groups or regions of the same country in order to gain political power. Genocide: systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group. HIV/AIDS: human immunodeficiency virus- virus that causes AIDS AIDS-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a disease of the immune system caused by HIV which makes the infected person vulnerable to other diseases and which can result in death. Malaria-a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes. Famine- widespread food shortage that causes malnutrition and starvation. Refugees-people who flee a country, often to escape war or persecution. Epidemic diseases-diseases which spread quickly and become widely prevalent throughout a given region.

Problems in 21 st Century Africa Disease Poverty Drought Poor Education Civil War Ethnic Conflict Genocide Famine

Issues facing Africa Today Independence brought freedom but it also ushered in a new era of hardships. One of the biggest issues facing Africa today is famine. What is famine? Large portions of Africa are dealing with droughts that cause mass starvation. The population of Africa grows at a faster rate than many countries can industrialize, therefore leaving many countries unable to feed all of their people. In Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Sudan starvation is common place.

Famine

Disease HIV/AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is one of the leading causes of death in Africa. No known cure for the disease, the rate of infection is due largely to poverty and poor education. Better education on the disease and how it spreads would help reduce the number of new cases. Malaria is a tropical disease spreading throughout the region carried by mosquitoes. Each year more than 1 million die from this disease. Children in Sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk. For instance malaria is the leading cause of death in children under five in Uganda. Insecticides and mosquito nets can drastically lower the number of infections.

Malaria Endemic: belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place. Endemic Malaria

HIV/AIDS Every day in Africa: HIV/AIDS kills 6,300 people 8,500 people are infected with the HIV virus 1,400 newborn babies are infected during childbirth or by their mothers' milk. 25 million people in Africa have HIV – this is 70% of global infections. Almost 2 million of African cases are children under the age of 15. Currently more than 12 million children in Africa have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently 4.1 million people with AIDS who are in immediate need of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). At the end of last year, only an estimated 50,000 of these people were able to take these drugs. AIDS experts estimate that it will cost more than $10.5 billion a year to fight AIDS globally. Wealthy countries currently spend less than $4 billion on global AIDS. The main ways AIDS is transmitted are unsafe injections, transmission from mother to child at birth or through breastfeeding, and transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, etc…

HIV/AIDS AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Genocide “Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Creating living conditions of the group with the intent to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”

Genocide Genocide in Uganda Lord's Resistance Army joseph-kony/ joseph-kony/ Genocide in Rwanda Genocide in Sudan

The Literacy rate in Africa is 50% meaning that half of the population cannot read or write. Sudan and Egypt both have a literacy rate of 51%. South Africa, the most developed, has an 83% literacy rate.