africa. overview background culture and religion economic and social issues politics and government

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