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

Independence For Africa

Independence Beginning in the 1950’s, Independence from European Powers began its move over the countries of Africa and its people.

Ghana After Independence

Ghana/Gold Coast The first African nation to achieve independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. The name change to Ghana from the Gold Coast was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana that once extended throughout much of western Africa. Kwame Nkrumah, the founder and first president of the modern Ghanaian state, was not only an African anti-colonial leader but also one with a dream of a united Africa which would not drift into neo-colonialism. He was the first African head of state to espouse Pan-Africanism.

Kenya After Independence

Kenya Since independence in 1963 Kenya has faced many hardships. In 1963 Jomo Kenyatta became president. Kenyatta opposed anyone who disagreed with him. Jomo Kenyatta ruled until his death in 1978. Kenyatta formed the (KANU) Kenya African National Union which has dominated the political arena. After Kenyatta’s death, Daniel arap Moi became president.

Kenya continued….. Daniel arap Moi has also opposed anyone who threatens his position. In 1990 refused to allow opposition parties to develop, pro-democracy protestors were imprisoned and over 100 people were killed. In 1991 international organizations imposed sanctions on Kenya until political and economic reforms where put in place. In 1992 multiparty elections were held but the many outside organizations accused the KANU and Moi of rigging the elections. In 2007 Kenya erupted into violent protests when the president won re-election in an election suspected of fraud. Presently Kenya is more stable today than it has been in decades since independence.

Nigeria After Independence

Nigeria Since independence in 1960 from Great Britain Nigeria has struggled economically and politically. Parties favoring capitalism and socialism consistently fight with one another. What is the difference? Since so many people are associated with different tribal and religious groups, ethnic conflict has become common place in the country. What is an ethnic conflict? Igbo and Yoruba are often at war with each other. Violence and bloodshed has also come with the turmoil. Main conflicts are between northerners who were Islamic and southerners who are not Islamic. Struggles for power resulted in many military coups. Many military type of governments have ruled Nigeria since its independence.

Nigeria continued…. In 1966 military took over Nigeria. Military ruled until 1993, until elections were held. However, military considered elections null and void. Nigeria remained under military rule until 1999. Today, Nigeria has democratically elected president. However, many contend that the elections are a fraud. Political instability, religious competition, ethnic differences and the need to become more modern continue to plague Nigeria.

Democratic Republic of Congo After Independence

Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) Independence from Belgium brought a brief period of hope. However, hope was quickly snatched from the people of the DRC. Soon after independence, Civil War erupts in Zaire. What is a civil war In 1994 Zaire’s neighbor Rwanda was entrenched into a bloody 3 month civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi. That left nearly 1 million dead, 800,000 Tutsi. Refugees from Rwanda fled to Zaire(DRC). In 1996, civil war began in DRC (Zaire) after violence spilled over from its neighbor (Rwanda). Rwanda has yet to recover from the civil war in 1994.

DRC continued…. DRC also faced similar challenges to its neighbor Rwanda. Mobutu’s regime was brutal and responsible for much of the ethnic tension in the DRC. In 1997 rebels tried to overthrow Mobutu regime. Ethnic tensions led to another civil war. In 2002, the Pretoria Accord was signed which brought an end to the war and established a new government. Free elections were held in 2006 the first since independence.

Sudan after Independence

Sudan Sudan is the largest country in Africa and has been in the center of much conflict. In 2003 Civil War erupted in the Darfur region of Sudan. This has since been called the Darfur Crisis (Now known as South Sudan) Fighting between the Arab Muslims who are allied with the Sudanese government and the non-Arabs fighting against them. Sudanese government claims to have little control of the Janjaweed (Arabs). International community has condemned the government and the Janjaweed. Hard to determine the number of deaths since the beginning of the war. At least 200,000 have died, and 2 million people have fled the country for their safety. What would we call these people?

South Africa after Independence

South Africa Afrikaners & Boers Clash (Boer War) Afrikaners establish apartheid Nelson Mandela and African National Congress Nelson Mandela is imprisoned for 27 years for due to his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement. F.W.de Klerk releases Mandela Mandela elected first black president.

Major Developments Since African Independence

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 is one of the leading causes of death in Africa. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome 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 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; that number is expected to reach 18 million by 2010. - 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 - that price tag will escalate to more than $15 billion a year by 2007. 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

Literacy Rate 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.