Africa and their Problems

HIV/AIDS 1. ¾ of all Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 who are HIV- positive are women million orphaned children left behind. 3. Just 12% of the world's population, Africa is estimated to have 70% of the AIDS-infected population. 4. Issues – a conspiracy wants to limit the growth of the African population a. Condoms stifle the traditional power of the man in his community.

% of Population with HIV

Blood Diamonds 1. Refers to a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity 2. An estimated 65% of the world's diamonds come from African countries. a. Diamonds account for 33% of the GDP (about $3.3 billion) of Botswana. 3. Only get 1 pound of diamonds after moving 18 million pounds of earth 4. Conflict diamonds have been reduced from approximately 4% to considerably less than 1% since the implementation of the Kimberley Process in 2003.

Health Care 1. Only 1.4 health workers per 1,000 people 2. Ghana trains 150 doctors annually; 80 percent have left 3. Malaria: Worldwide, there are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year, resulting in more than a million deaths. a. 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, mostly among young children. b. In Uganda, malaria is the leading cause of death among children under five 4. Current AIDS issues will require 1 million health professionals over the next decade

Life Expectancy

Brain Drain 1. Africa has lost a third of its skilled professionals a. Costs the continent $4b dollars a year to replace them 2. Africa has been losing 20,000 professionals each year since There are more African scientists and engineers in the USA than in all of Africa 4. At least 60 per cent of doctors trained in Ghana during the 1980s have left the country. 5. Political persecution was often a factor driving the best brains away 6. Africa employs up to 150,000 expatriate professionals at a cost of $4 billion a year /47 sub-Saharan African countries fall short of the minimum (WHO) standard of 20 physicians per 100,000 people. 8. Brain drain makes it difficult to create a middle class a. Doctors, engineers and other professionals. b. African society: a massive underclass – unemployed/very poor and a few very rich people that are mostly corrupt military and government officials.

Solutions 1. Virtual schools 2. Visiting professors 3. Fix push/pull factors 4. One-time exit taxes or tax receiving nation 5. Eliminate military spending and increase spending on education, women's empowerment and youth development.

Literacy Rate

World Literacy Rates

Human Development Index