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Africa
Overview
• Background• Culture and Religion• Economic and Social Issues • Politics and Government
Africa: Overview Video
African People
• Negroids• Caucasoids
• Negroids– 70% of population
• Caucasoids– Arabs, Berbers, Europeans
African People
African Culture
• Family Importance
• Marriage and Procreation
• Women
• Arts and Music
African Culture
• Family Importance– The most important social unit
– Identity is first based on the extended family, then the clan, and then the ethnic group
African Culture
• Extended family expectations– Clear roles
– Expected to share resources, hospitality, food, etc.
African Culture
• Marriage and Procreation– Children represent the bond between their
parent’s families– The number of children is a source of pride
and prestige• Represent continued flow of life• Children also valued as a source of labor
when necessary
African Culture
• Women– Perform most domestic tasks; care for children,
sick and elderly; grow and harvest food
– Traditionally limited access to education and subservient to men by custom or law
– Status improving in most communities
• Art and Music– Originally created to record historical events
or religious purposes• Masks, statues, pottery, baskets,
jewelry, and clothing– African music has influenced music around
the world
African Culture
African Religion
• Christianity - most practiced• Islam• Traditional Beliefs• Small Jewish communities
Africa is a continent with vast potential wealth in terms of its people and its natural resources, yet Africa is the most underdeveloped region of the world.
Economics
Economics
• Many traditional jobs – Fishing– Herding– Hunting, and gathering
Economics
• Large city migration
• High unemployment• 1/2 of Africans live on <$1 Per day
Economics
Social Issues
• Critical Health Problems– Ebola, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera,
measles, guinea worm
•Africa has 12% of the world population, but in 2006, had 63% of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases
– 2.1 million AIDS deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa represent 72% of global AIDS deaths
– 1 in 5 adults in Zimbabwe have HIV
•Half of population suffer from malaria – A child dies every 30 seconds from malaria– Single leading cause of death for
children under 5yrs
Realities of Africa’s Health Situation
• Unsanitary Conditions– Less than 50% have safe drinking water
• ¼ population undernourished– War and famine– Susceptible to disease
• Lack of funding for preventative health care and medicine
What are some reasons for Africa’s devastating health situation?
Health, the Environment, and the Impact of War
• Immense amounts of money is spent to conduct war…. Every $1 spent for war is $1 not spent on health and infrastructure
• Children are abused by war– Child warriors by force– As young as seven
Health, the Environment, and the Impact of War
• The continent also has serious environmental problems such as deforestation and desertification, which is rapidly expanding on a continent that already has substantial deserts
• It results from poor land management: productive land that was over cultivated, overgrazed, clear-cut or over irrigated
• Drought also contributes to the problem
Health, the Environment, and the Impact of War
• Oil extraction in a number of African countries pollutes the African environment
• International corporations contract with African countries allowing them to transfer toxic waste to Africa
• Commercial mining also disfigures the African landscape
– Ore and other minerals are extracted, often leaving contaminated and unusable land
Politics and Government
• In the 1950s, and throughout the ’60s and ’70s, the African struggle for independence and
democracy intensified • By the end of the twentieth century, Africa had
become 53 independent countries
Politics and Government
Why has it been so difficult for many African countries to achieve political stability?
• Impact from the European slave trade• Legacy of the colonial period• Colonial rule was authoritarian• Problems with boundaries• Countries produced few or no products to export• Corruption, often backed by the military• Many countries warring with their neighbors
• Africa is of strategic importance to the rest of the world for several reasons – It sits squarely in the middle of three
of the most important trade routes— the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea
– Vast energy resources, and most of the minerals essential for
industrial development
– 1/3 of all votes within the General Assembly of the United Nations
World Affairs
• Africa is also important for economic reasons – Oil, minerals– Europe-Asia
• Africa also has many close ties to the U.S. – 13% of U.S. population is of African descent
World Affairs
• Africa is now seeking assistance from the rest of the developed world in three critical areas
– First, debt forgiveness to remove a major constraint on Africa’s economic development
– Second, aid, such as loans and technical assistance, to deal with problems related to education, health, and the environment
– Third, increased foreign direct investment and trade to fund infrastructure and industry
World Affairs
Summary
• Background• Culture and Religion• Economic and Social Issues • Politics and Government
Questions?
• Student Presentations and Discussion
Africa
• Politics and Government– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Politics and Government– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Economics– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Economics– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Health, the Environment, and the Impact of War– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Health, the Environment, and the Impact of War– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Social and Cultural Issues– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Social and Cultural Issues– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Continental and World Affairs– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Continental and World Affairs– Student Presentations– Discussion
Africa
• Questions
Africa