Problems in Africa STEPS: We’ll get into 6 groups. Your behavior decides how the groups are formed. In your groups you’ll be given 6 facts (on the board). Your goal is to answer the following questions for each fact. What are the causes for your problem? What could the government do to solve the problem? This is INDIVIDUALLY done on a sheet of paper (everybody in the group must write on their own sheet to turn in).

There are many major issues across Africa that affect people’s quality of life, access to education, lack of healthcare, and the threat of famine. The standard of living for much of Africa is very low. Many Africans cannot meet their basic needs and poverty is widespread. ¾ of the world’s poorest countries are located in Africa. In many parts of Africa, civil wars, military coups, and revolutions have caused power to change hands many times. Political conflicts keep many countries from finding solutions to famine, poverty, and disease. Access to education: Because many countries have been involved in civil wars, they have had little interest or money to invest in schooling. Children in large cities have greater access to education, while in the rural areas there is little money for teachers, school buildings, and supplies. Many African nations have failed to focus on building proper healthcare systems for their citizens. There are too few hospitals, not enough doctors, and insufficient supplies to treat major outbreaks. In many instances, there has not been an effective method of distributing medicines in emergences.

Some epidemics that have occurred in Africa are malaria, Ebola, and AIDS. While 11,300 people died from Ebola, over 1.5 million have died from AIDS. It’s estimated that there are 11 million AIDS orphans. Few African countries have the resources to treat AIDS patients. The situation is made worse by poverty, weak educational systems, and public health services. Famine is one of Africa’s biggest problems. In some countries famine takes hold when not enough resources have been provided to feed the people. AIDS has reduced the number of farmers available to work. Civil War can also interrupt farming and cause food shortages. Sometimes money goes to building armies instead of investing in food. Other times, food is used as a weapon by people denying food shipments.