Introduction to Issues Facing Contemporary Africa

Population Characteristics of Africa

Today, across the world

1.3 billion people live on less than one dollar a day

3 billion live on under two dollars a day

1.3 billion have no access to clean

water

3 billion have no access to sanitation

2 billion have no access to electricity

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.

Richest People in the World Rank Country Individual 1 United States Gates, William H III 2 United States Buffett, Warren E 3 India Lakshmi Mittal 4 Mexico Carlos Slim Helu 5 Saudi Arabia Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud 6 Sweden Ingvar Kamprad 7 United States Paul Allen 8 Germany Karl Albrecht 9 United States Lawrence Ellison 10 United States S Robson Walton

1 United States, William Gates III 2 United States Warren Buffett

3 India Mittal Lakshmi

What we spent in Billions of Dollars Cosmetics in the United States 8 bIce cream in Europe 11 bPerfumes in Europe and the United States 12 bPet foods in Europe and the United States 17 bBusiness entertainment in Japan 35 bCigarettes in Europe 50 bAlcoholic drinks in Europe 105 bNarcotics drugs in the world 400 bMilitary spending in the world 780 b

What is needed in Billions of dollarsBasic education for all 6 bWater and sanitation for all 9 bReproductive health for all women 12 bBasic health and nutrition 13 b

Rank Country GDP - per capita

1 East Timor $ 500

2 Somalia $ 500

3 Sierra Leone $ 500

4 Malawi $ 600

5 Tanzania $ 600

6 Burundi $ 600

7 Congo, Republic of the $ 700

8 Congo, Democratic Republic of the $ 700

9 Comoros $ 700

10 Eritrea $ 700

11 Ethiopia $ 700

12 Afghanistan $ 700

13 Niger $ 800

14 Yemen $ 800

15 Madagascar $ 800

16 Guinea-Bissau $ 800

17 Zambia $ 800

18 Kiribati $ 800

19 Nigeria $ 900

20 Mali $ 900

Poorest Countries in the World---Notice How Many Are From Africa

According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world.

That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year.

• Africa's population which was estimated at 257 million in 1960 had increased to 482 million by 1983.

• In 1993 the population of the continent was estimated at 682 million.

• The average annual growth rate during the decade was 3.2 percent, the highest among a Third World region.

• Current population estimates of the continent are around 1 billion people.

• Africa faces a major population explosion in the near future.

AFRICA: POPULATION• In 2003, Africa had a population of 861,000,000,

13.6 percent of the world total. • Sub-Saharan Africa, as defined here (excluding

North Africa), had 711,300,000 people in 2003.• The realm is divided into 55 countries, approximately

one fourth of the political units of the world.• The overall rate of natural increase of the population

in Africa is 2.4 percent, the highest of any world region (world rate of natural increase is 1.3 percent).

• The doubling time for Africa’s population is only 29 years as compared to 54 years for the world as a whole.

Africa’s Population Growth Trends

• 1950: 64 million

• 2000: 250 million

• 2050: 779 million

In 100 years Africa:

• Population grew 10x

• Second most populous region in the world

In 2050:

•1 of 4 humans live in Africa

•1 of 3 Africans live in East Africa

Africa’s Geography: People

• In 2007 Africa was home to more than 965 million people

• More than 60% of Africa’s population was still living in rural areas in 2005

• Africa now has the fastest urban growth rate in the world

• 2.7% of Africa’s population lives within 100 km of the coast

• 56.6% of African labour force is engaged in agriculture

Africa’s Changing Environment

Natural Change and Population Africa’s population grew 2.32% annually between 2000 and 2005—nearly double the global rate of 1.24%

Air and Atmosphere Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change - towards the end of the 21st century, climate change will have caused sea-level rises that will affect Africa’s highly populated low-lying coastal areas

Land Cover and Land Use Africa is losing more than four million hectares of forest every year—twice the world’s average deforestation rate

Water By 2050 it is expected that areas experiencing water shortages in sub-Saharan Africa will have increased by 29%

Biodiversity Africa contains 3 044 protected areas including 198 Marine Protected Areas, 50 Biosphere Reserves, 80 Wetlands of International Importance, and eight of the world’s 34 international biodiversity hotspots

Africa’s population grew 2.32% annually between 2000 and 2005—nearly double the global rate of 1.24% per year

Africa’s Changing Population

Africa’s “Shrinking” Land Base

1950

1970

1990

2005

2050

Increased population increases pressures on the land and its resources. In a hypotheticalsituation whereby land is shared equally among its population, each individual’s share of land would decrease with the increase in population as time passes, putting more pressure on resources.

Cultural Geography of Africa

• Population Characteristics– Birth rates 40/1000– Death rates 15/1000– Natural Increase 25/1000– Infant Mortality 91/1000– Doubling Time 27 years– Pop <15 44%– Pop > 65 3%

AFRICA: Population

• Africa is the least urbanized of the world's regions with only 33 percent of its people living in urban areas.

• Only 11 African cities have more than 1,000,000 people.

• Kinshasa, the capital of Congo (Zaire), is Sub-Saharan Africa's largest city in terms of population size.

Principal Cities: Sub-Saharan Africa

1,096,0001,144,0001,189,1031,213,0001,250,000

1,459,0001,490,450

1,929,0792,084,5882,143,254

3,000,000

0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000

Dar es SalaamIbadanHarareLagos

AntananarivoLuanda

DakarAbidjan

Addis AbabaNairobi

Kinshasa

Sub-Saharan Africa---Where Most of the Problems are Occurring

• Poorest continent– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years

– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees

– Debt crisis

• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists

• Legacies of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport systems

• Medical Crises, including most HIV/AIDs in world• War and Failed Political Leadership Common

– Few successful democracies

Sub-Saharan Africa• Poorest continent

– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees– Debt crisis– 44% of population younger than 15– In 1990s number of those living in “extreme poverty (<$1/day) rose

from 242 million to 300 million+

Angola, 2000

Rates of Natural Increase

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent,

though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence

agriculture important

– 69% of population is rural– Glorious wildlife still exists

Masai Village, Kenya

Village, ZimbabweRwandan Farm

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists Rank City Population

1 Tokyo, Japan 28 million

2

New York City, United States 20.1 million

3

Mexico City, Mexico 18.1 million

4

Mumbai, India (Bombay) 18 million

5

Sao Paulo, Brazil 17.7 million

6

Los Angeles, United States 15.8 million

7

Shanghai, China 14.2 million

8Lagos, Nigeria 13.5 million

9

Kolkata, India (Calcutta) 12.9 million

10

Buenos Aires, Argentina 12.5 million

Lagos, Nigeria

Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast

– Village life and subsistence agriculture important

– Glorious wildlife still exists

Cape Town, Black Township, S. Africa

Lagos, Nigeria

Legacy of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport

systems

Rail Systems Connect Cities to Ports, Not Other Cities

Oil Palm Production

Coffee in Kenya

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’SECONOMIC CHALLENGE

• Economic growth rate- 1.5% - world’s lowest

• The region’s 646 million people have a combined GNP of less than $150 billion, roughly the same as Belgium and its 10 million people.

• Population - growing at a rate of 2.6% annually, vs 1.7% for South America and 1.9% for South Asia

After achieving independence, many African nations faced economic challenges that came with their new status. In addition, Africans had to combat the spread of disease and environmental problems.

• After independence most African nations’ economies fragile

• Depended on only one, two exports for support

Struggling Economies

• African nations not industrialized, depended on farming, mining raw materials

• Example: Ghana depended on cocoa; Nigeria, oil

Farming, Mining

• For loans, turned to international organizations, like World Bank; bad planning, corrupt leaders left nations with huge debts, no infrastructure

Development Loans

Economic and Environmental Challenges

Leading causes of death in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia for persons age 0-44 (World Health Organization)

As you knowin the developing world treatable

infectious diseases remain big killers

Health Issues and Epidemics

African Health Issues

• Famine, AIDS, and malaria are among Africa’s biggest health problems.

• Africa is a large continent with many Countries and 800 million people.

• It is also the poorest continent in the world.

African Health Issues

• Africa had many natural resources before European colonization.

• Today, however, there is widespread poverty throughout Africa.

• Many health problems are caused or made worse by poverty.

• Poverty creates poor living conditions, such as lack of clean water or food.

African Health Issues

• People living in poor conditions often get sick.

• They may live in crowded areas that are dirty.

• They may not have doctors or medicine.

• People living in poverty may not have the education to know how to stop the spread of disease.

Health Issues

• Health issues in Africa are made worse by unstable politics.

• In turn, unstable politics contribute to poverty.

• High death rates due to health crises weaken economies.

• In this way, the issues of health, economics, and politics are intertwined.

• Endemic-- Exists in equilibrium with the population

-- Many develop an immunity of sorts

-- Saps energy, lowers resistance, shortens lives

• Epidemic-- Sudden outbreak at local, regional scale

• Pandemic-- Worldwide spread

MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY

AFRICA: HAZARDS AND DISEASES

• Endemic: A disease exists in a population in a state of equilibrium; (syphilis and mononucleosis in the U.S.).

• Endemic African diseases include malaria, yellow fever, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and schistosomiasis also called bilharzia. – The name bilharzia comes after Theodor Bilharz a

German physician who died in 1862.

AFRICA: HAZARDS AND DISEASES• Pandemic: Worldwide spread of a disease such as influenza.

– Africa’s and the world’s most deadly disease is malaria which is transmitted by mosquitoes and kills as many as 1,000,000 children per year.

• Another example of a pandemic disease is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). People infected with Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV) do not display symptoms of the disease immediately. In some cases, people may carry the virus for years without being aware of it. – According to the United Nations, more than 32,000,000 people were

infected with HIV worldwide in 2001. – Approximately 27,000,000 lived in Tropical African countries, specially

the AIDS Belt that extends from Congo to Kenya. – In Zimbabwe and Botswana more than 25% of all persons aged 15-49

were infected with the HIV virus. The percentage of infections in Zambia is about 20% and in South Africa about 13%.

– The impact of AIDS on Africa is devastating.• Yellow fever is another African pandemic disease.

– There was an outbreak in Senegal in the 1960s that claimed more than 20,000 lives.

MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY• Studies spatial aspects of disease and

health

• Africa is an extraordinary laboratory.-- Disease incidence and diffusion

-- Widespread nutritional deficiencies

• Millions suffer from:

– malaria - river blindness

– yellow fever - sleeping sickness– AIDS -

bilharzia/schistosomiasis

Current Challenges in Africa

-While Sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the world’s population, it has more than 60 percent or more than 25 million people living with HIV/AIDS. -Two important issues to note with regard to the epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa are, first we are dealing with multiple epidemics requiring multiplestrategies and, two the face of the epidemic is becoming more feminine which has dire consequences.-These next two slides show that while Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the epidemic in terms of thenumber of people affected, HIV/AIDS spares no one.

Medical Crises, including most HIV/AIDs in world

HIV/AIDS:

•By 2010, more than 5 million cases and 300,000 annual deaths in E. Africa of AIDS

•HIV now (maybe) receding

Current status: DisasterCurrent status: DisasterHIV/AIDS basicsHIV/AIDS basics

HIV and AIDS in Africa

• The spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) due to infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the most severe health crisis in the world.

• It is considered a pandemic, a widespread epidemic HIV/AIDS attacks and destroys the body’s power to fight illness.

• HIV/AIDS is spread through bodily fluids like blood, semen, and breast milk.

Figure 17-A (b), p. 450

HIV and AIDS in Africa

• Africa has the highest rates of HIV infection in the world.

• Seventeen million people have died from AIDS on the continent.

• Over two-thirds of all HIV infections in the world are in Africa.

• One-third of all AIDS deaths in the world in 2005 occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV and AIDS in Africa

• AIDS/HIV is a major threat to the people of Africa.

• The spread of AIDS lowers the life expectancy of entire populations.

• Life expectancy is a measure of how long people can expect to live.

• Over 12 million African children have been orphaned by AIDS.

HIV and AIDS in Africa

• There are drugs that slow down the progress of HIV infection to AIDS.

• However, there is no cure for AIDS. Education and prevention are the most important tools for fighting AIDS.

• Africa needs more money to pay for education and prevention programs.

MALARIA AND HIVMALARIA AND HIV

Worldwide Distribution of Malaria

Worldwide Distribution of HIV, End of 2004

Malaria and HIV overlap in Sub Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.In 2003 HIV/AIDS caused the deaths of approx. 2.9 M people of whom 2.4 M lived in Africa

Global malaria burden

Lancet 2010; 376: 1566–78

Over 40% of world population live in malaria endemic countries247 million cases and nearly one million deaths in 2008

(WHO report 2010)

Endemic in 109 countries

Malaria: a disease of poverty

• A disease of poverty and a cause of poverty

Burden of povertyBurden of malaria

Source: RBM data/J. Sachs 1999 RBM InfoSheet 10

What is Malaria?• Malaria is a parasite that enters the blood. • This parasite is a protozoan called

plasmodium.• 3 to 700 million people get malaria each

year, but only kills 1 to 2 million• 40% of the worlds population lives in

malaria zones• Malaria zones are: Africa, India, Middle

East, Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific

Malaria in Africa

• Malaria is a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes.

• Each year, more than one million people die from malaria.

• Children in Sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk of death from the disease.

• For instance, malaria is the leading cause of death in children under five in Uganda.

In Africa, malaria kills one child in 20 before the age of five (STI

MALARIA THE KILLER DISEASEMALARIA THE KILLER DISEASE

• Every year, more than 500 million people become severely ill with malaria.

• More than 1 million people die each year. The majority of victims are children and pregnant women. WHO says malaria kills 3,000 children under five every day (one African child every 30 seconds)

• Sub-Saharan Africa bears 90 percent of the burden.

Malaria:

•75% of all cases in Africa

•90% of all deaths in Africa

•A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds

www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/pathophys/parasitology/2006/PAR-05Color .pdf

–In areas of Africa with high transmission In areas of Africa with high transmission –there are 2700 deaths per day = 2 per minutethere are 2700 deaths per day = 2 per minute

The parasite spends part of its life cycle inside the red blood cells

The parasite is transmitted by the bite of the female anopheline mosquito which acts as the definitive hostHumans act as

intermediate hosts where sexual and asexual forms of the parasite are found

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites

MALARIA

WIDESPREADINCIDENCE

Malaria burden in Africa

Africa’s share: • 60% of global malaria

cases• 91% of global malaria

deathResponsible for

• 30-50% of hospital admissions

• 50% of outpatient visits in areas of high transmission

• 10% of the overall disease burden in Africa

Annual malaria mortality rates/100,000 population

Malaria burden in Africa...• Malaria kills more African children than any other

disease —Accounts for nearly 20 percent of under-five

mortality in Africa. —A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds in Africa.

• Malaria during pregnancy kills —10,000 pregnant women and 200,000 of their

infants every year• Deaths result from

—infection with the malaria parasite directly, —severe anemia and malnutrition —Anemia contributes to more than half of malaria

deaths in women and children.

Malaria impoverishes Africa

• Consumes —about 25% of household incomes—around 40% of public health expenditure

• Costs Africa about $12 billion in lost production each year.

• Malaria can decrease GDP by about 1.3% every year in countries with high disease burden —aggregated losses leading to differences in GDP

between countries with and without malaria

Vitoria M et al. Am J Clin Pathol 2009;131:844-848

Acute Symptoms

• Classical features include cyclic symptoms

– Cold stage: chills and shaking

– Hot stage: fever, headache, vomiting, seizures in children

– Sweating stage: weakness

– Feel well for period of time, then cycle repeats itself

www.uhhg.org/mcrh/resources/video/malariappt.pdf

Malaria damages the bodyin a number of ways

• Red blood cell destruction -> anemia

• Waves of parasites bursting red blood cells

Lead to classic cycles of fever and chills

Malaria damages the bodyin a number of ways

• Changes adhesive properties of infected

Red blood cells -> blocking blood vessels leading to Tissue hypoxia

Malaria damages the bodyin a number of ways

• If this happens in brain it is cerebral malaria

which is often fatal

Blocking blood

vessels can also

cause kidney failure

Malaria damages the bodyin a number of ways

In severe cases 20% of patients can die,

even with the best care

How Malaria Affects You

• When malaria enters the blood, the parasites go to the liver, where they reproduce.

• After they infect the liver, they transform, and go for red blood cells, as shown in slide 11.

• The more the parasite breaks out of blood cells, the sicker a person gets. This is when symptoms occur.

• The period when malaria is in the liver is called the dormant phase.

• Falciparum malaria is the most dangerous type of malaria, because it makes red blood cells stick to veins, clogging them.

Diagram of Malaria Infection

Infection is by mosquito bite

Infects liver, then blood cells

Here’s Glaxo-SmithKline’sCliff Notesversion

Malaria in Africa

• There is no vaccine against malaria.

• However, there are ways to reduce the spread of the disease.

• Insecticides and mosquito nets can drastically lower the number of infections.

• Anti-malaria drugs can also help, but they are very expensive.

Cost

• Not expensive to treat.• Medicine usually costs around $2.50.• In hospital however, severe malaria can

cost much more.• Treatment of severe malaria in a hospital

can cost up to a few hundred dollars in developing countries; thousands of dollars in the U.S.

Malaria in Africa

• Unfortunately many of the regions where the risk of malaria is highest are also poor.

• People in these areas cannot afford to buy mosquito nets or insecticides to kill mosquitoes.

• According to the World Health Organization malaria is a disease that is caused by poverty, and it’s a disease that also can lead to poverty.

Chart: Malaria Cases per 100,000 people.

Source: United Nations Development Program

Tuberculosis:

•10% of all infections acute, kill half of those untreated

•33% of world infected, new infections 1 per second

•1.7m deaths in 2009, most Africa

Tuberculosis:

•TB + HIV = Death

•Drug resistant strains emerging

•Global plan to stop TB: death rate has fallen by 1/3rd

SLEEPING SICKNESS

Tsetse FlyTsetse Fly

WIDESPREADINCIDENCE

The Tsetse Fly and its impact• Tsetse flies transmit a disease called

sleeping sickness.

• This disease does not effect most native animals but has devastating effects on livestock in the region.

• As a result farmers and herders have not entered the area in great numbers.

• This leaves Africa’s Serengeti Plan to the native animals where little human population exists.

Tsetse Fly

Tsetse Fly• Found in Sub-Saharan Africa, and only

common to Africa.

• Found in vegetation by rivers and lakes, in gallery-forests and in vast stretches of wooded savannah. Mostly tropical areas.

• Many regions where tsetse flies are found, but the Sleeping Sickness is not.

• It can bite through clothing, and the bite is very painful.

• The fly becomes infected with the disease by biting animals or humans who are already infected with the disease.

• The fly is attracted to dust and bright and dark colors.

• When bitten, a red sore will be produced on the skin. The sore is known as a chancre.

• The tsetse fly becomes infected with this bacteria. (Trypanosoma Brucei)

African Sleeping SicknessTrypanosomiasis

A deadly disease spread by the tsetse fly.

SymptomsThe symptoms begin within 1 to 4 weeks.• Fever• Personality changes• Disturbance of sleep patterns• Troubles with walking and talking• Aching muscles and joints• Slurred speech• Seizures• Rashes• Swelling around the eyes and hands• Headaches• Fatigue• Prolonged sleep• Death shortly happens a few months after the invasion of the central nervous system.

World Wide Consequences

• Number one cause of mortality.• Biggest health risk in Africa. Famine is spreading because

farmers and cattle are dying from the disease.• Doctors from other countries are being sent over to Africa.• It costs the US $250.00 to treat one person over a one-

month period in hospital.• The treatment is a drain on the health services, and the

resources of families who stay in the hospital.

WWC (cont.)• Richer countries with better

medical care do not have problems with the sleeping sickness.

• Occurs in areas where health systems are weak or non-existent. Displacement of populations, war and poverty are important factors leading to increased transmission

• Inexpensive to treat cows infected with nagana.

Affected Countries• Congo, Angola,

and Sudan are the most infected countries with the sleeping sickness.

• Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Chad, and Guinea are also infected with the disease.

• Tsetse fly bite

• Tsetse fly bite

• Patient diagnosed with Sleeping Sickness

• Patient far along in the stages of the disease

Male Child infected with sleeping sickness

Male child being treated to help cure sleeping sickness

"This morning, only a few hours ago, she was lively like the others," says the health worker. "All of a sudden, she had severe seizures and then slid into a coma. There is not much we can do for the moment, apart from trying to pull her through with a sugar solution. We'll have to wait and see."

Tsetse Fly Trap• Tsetse fly traps are used

to kill the flies.• The trap looks enough

like a cow to trick the Tsetse fly

• Lured by the smell of cow's urine contained in the bottle, they fly towards the blue cloth on either side of the trap.

• Then the black cloth in the middle invites the flies to settle. They then fall into the trap and die

• This trap has lowered the amount of tsetse flies in Africa.

African farmers are getting together to make the traps.

Dictators

War and Failed Political Leadership Common– Few successful democracies; political violence common– Free press is rare– Conflicts limit foreign investment

Some of Africa’s Current Dictators

Robert Mugabe, ZimbabweAge 80. In power since 1980. Breaking up white-owned farms. Nepotism.

King Mswati III, SwazilandAge 35. In power since 1986. Lavish lifestyle. Poor subjects. 11 wives. 3 Fiances. 25 children.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial GuineaAge 61. In power since 1979 coup. Corrupt.

Fig. 17-22, p. 476

Idi Amin. Uganda. Reign: 1971 -1979. Famous for his brutality

Mobuto Sese Seko. Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). Reign: 1965 -1997. Famous for kleptocracy (billions stolen)

Mengistu Haile Mariam (1937 - )

• Ethiopia

• Know as “The Red Terror” for his links with the USSR.

• Executed 1.5 million of his own people in 4 years. – (Top ten genocides of the century)

• Stole international food aid during Ethiopia’s famine.

• Ousted in 1991 and fled to Zimbabwe.

Idi Amin Dada (1925

- )• Uganda• President from 1971-1979• A former boxer, rose through the ranks of the Army. Seized power

through military coup.• Reigned with brutal torture and violence. Bodies were found with

genitals, noses, livers, and eyes missing.• Prison camps were filled with common citizens and prisoners were

forced to kill each other.• 300,000 people were killed under Amin, with 60,000 Kenyans being

expelled from the country.• 1976 – declared himself president for life.• Heavy Military – soldiers held government positions• Invaded Tanzania in 1978, but was defeated• Has been called “Africa’s Adolph Hitler”

Charles Taylor (1931 - )

• Liberia• Elected as president in 1997• Has been accused of using rape, mutilation, and

torture as instruments of terror• Is accused of using civilians as slave labor• Personal wealth is greater than Liberia’s Gross

National Product• Gained wealth by looting Liberia’s natural

resources: gold, diamonds, rubber, and timber• Supports rebels in Sierra Leone by smuggling

illegal diamonds

Robert Mugabe (1924 - )

• Zimbabwe• In 1980 became first president after

independence from Britain• Became more dictatorial and lost popularity• Physically removed white farmers from their land

in “land redistribution program”• Any opposition to Mugabe’s regime is not

tolerated• Accused of stashing large amounts of money in

foreign bank accounts

Siad Barre (1919-1995)

• Somalia• Seized power in 1969 military coup • Divided up Somalia’s clans against each other• Accused of killing thousands of innocent civilians and

their livestock and poisoning their water supplies• Estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people were killed

between 1988-1990• Overthrown in 1991 and fled to Nigeria

Laurent Kabila (1939-2001)

• Democratic Republic of Congo• Overthrew Joseph Mobutu in 1997 to become

president• 3.3 million people were killed under his rule• Removed officials from different tribes than his

own• Sent political opponents into exile• Shot by his own bodyguard in 2001

Jean-Bedel Bokassa (1921-1996)

• Central African Republic• Became president from 1966 until 1979 in a military coup• Helped establish the new army of independent C.A.R.• Abolished the country’s constitution and declared himself president

for life• Adopted the title of ‘emperor’ after a $30 million coronation

ceremony• Made himself rich while brutally exploited his people• Personally involved in torture, executions, and even cannibalism• Ousted by a French-backed coup in 1979• Returned in 1986, but was arrested, convicted and sentenced to

death for crimes against humanity• His sentence was changed to life in prison, but was released in

1993• Had 17 wives and 50 children• Died of a heart attack in 1996

Sekou Toure (1922-1984)

• Guinea• Became first president after independence in

1958• Brought poverty and slavery to Guinea• Established ‘death camps’ in the 1960’s that

lasted 20 years• Tortured and executed many of Guinea’s elite

class• One million Guineans fled the country for

political and economic reasons• Died during surgery in the U.S. in 1984

Omar Al-bashir (1947 – )

SudanSeized power by military coup in 1989 over the

democracy.1 million people killed in Sudanese Civil War.9 million have fled the country or been place in

“internal exile”Dissolved Sudan’s parliament, banned political

parties, closed down all independent media.Imposed strict Islamic Law (Shariah) and brutally

repressed non-Muslims.

Issayas Afeworki (1945 - ) • Eritrea

• Became president in 1991 with independence from Ethiopia

• His party split and brutally repressed opponents• Shut down all of Eritrea’s free media and arrested

high-ranked officials of his own government• Cracked down on young dissidents at Eritrea’s

only university• Over 2000 university students were sent to

“community work camps”• The student union leader “disappeared”

Hissene Habre

• Chad• President from 1982 until 1990• Widespread genocide against ethnic minorities

during his rule• Personal secret police believed to have

assassinated tens of thousands of political opponents

• Systematic use of torture was common practice• Currently in exile in Senegal • Facing charges of crimes against humanity in

Belgium

• Despite conflicts, war throughout late 1900s, many African countries still dictatorships

• Cold War: U.S., Soviets gave large amounts of money to dictators friendly to their side

• Cold War ended, money dried up; weakened some dictators’ governments

• Many Africans saw weakness as opportunity to create democratic governments, demanded elections

• By 2005, more than 30 African countries had abandoned one-party systems, held elections

Elections • Election results mixed

• Some former dictators resorted to fraud, intimidation to win elections

• Others elected because people preferred them to alternatives

Results

Democracy for Some

When the European powers divided Africa into colonies, preexisting political units were not maintained.

• After independence, rival ethnic groups competed for control, some by destructive civil wars

• 1967, Igbo-speaking group of eastern Nigeria proclaimed independent state of Biafra

• Bloody civil war erupted; 2 million died from fighting, another 2 million from starvation

Ethnic Conflicts• 1992, civil war, drought led to

suffering in Somalia

• Hundreds of thousands of Somalis died when warring militias stole food sent from international relief agencies

• 1990s, tensions between Hutu, Tutsi erupted in violence

• 1994, 1 million Tutsi, moderate Hutus massacred in Hutu-led government genocide

Civil Wars

Ethnic Conflicts and Civil War

Rwanda & Burundi • Ex-Belgian Colonies• Genocide

What do you do to help yourself when your parents are dead from war, famine or AIDS?