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{{short description|Overview of poverty in Africa}}▼
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
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{{original research|date=December 2007}}
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▲{{short description|Overview of poverty in Africa}}
[[File:Nairobi Kibera 04.JPG|330px|thumb|[[Kibera]] is the largest [[slum]] in [[Nairobi]],
'''Poverty in Africa''' is the lack of provision to satisfy the [[Basic needs|basic human needs]] of certain people in [[Africa]].
In 2006, 34 of the 50 nations on the UN list of [[least developed countries]] were in Africa.<ref>[https://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/list.htm LDCs List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026045553/http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/list.htm |date=26 October 2013 }}. un.org. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.</ref> In many nations, GDP per capita is less than US$5200 per year, with the vast majority of the population living on much less (according to [[World Bank]] data, by 2016 the [[island nation]] of [[Seychelles]] was the only African country with a [[GDP per capita]] above US$10,000 per year<ref>[https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD GDP per capita (current US$)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701072201/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD |date=1 July 2019 }}, [[World Bank]] website, retrieved 9 January 2018</ref>). In addition, Africa's share of income has been consistently dropping over the past century by any measure. In 1820, the average European worker earned about three times what the average African did. Now, the average European earns twenty times what the average African does.<ref>*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060728035445/http://www.prosi.net.mu/mag98/356sept/sachs356.htm A New Partnership for Growth in Africa]</ref> Although GDP per capita incomes in Africa have also been steadily growing, measures are still far better in other parts of the world.
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Historically, such programs have been few and far between, with much foreign aid being concentrated on the raising of cash crops and large plantations rather than family farms.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100528012950/http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu28ae/uu28ae05.htm#3.%20food%20self%20sufficiency:%20crisis%20of%20the%20collective%20ideology 3. Food self-sufficiency: Crisis of the collective ideology]</ref>
There is no consensus on what the optimal strategy for land use in Africa may be. Studies by the National Academy of Sciences have suggested great promise in relying on native crops as a means of improving [[Food security in Africa|Africa's food security]]. A report by Future Harvest suggests that traditionally used forage plants show the same promise.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061005040201/http://www.futureharvest.org/pdf/leafy_feature.pdf With Time Running Out, Scientists Attempt Rescue of African Vegetable Crops]. Future Harvest. 29 November 2001,
==Misused money==
In addition, most African nations have owed substantial sums of money. However, a large percentage of the money was either invested in weapons (money that was spent back in developed nations, and provided little or no benefit to the native population) or was directly misappropriated by corrupt governments. As such, many newly [[democracy|democratic]] nations in Africa are saddled with debt run up by [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] regimes. Large debts usually result in little being spent on [[social services]], such as [[education]], [[pensions]], or [[medical care]]. In addition, most of the debt currently owed (approximately $321 billion (U.S.) in 1996<ref>Samuel M. Wangwe [https://web.archive.org/web/20100910075524/http://www.unu.edu/hq/academic/Pg_area4/Wangwe.html FOREIGN AID, DEBT AND DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA]. Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF). 29 July 1998. Paper presented at the UNU-AERC Conference on "Asia and Africa in the Global Economy" at United Nations University Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan 3 – 4 August 1998</ref>) represents only the interest portion on the debt, and far exceeds the amounts that were actually borrowed (although this is true of large debts in developed nations as well). Authors [[Leonce Ndikumana]] and James K. Boyce estimate that from 1970 to 2008, [[capital flight]] from 33 sub-Saharan countries totalled $700 billion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Should Africa challenge its "odious debts?" |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/angolaNews/idAFL5E8ED3JD20120315 |work=Reuters |date=15 March 2012 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508175341/https://af.reuters.com/article/angolaNews/idAFL5E8ED3JD20120315 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Most African nations are pushing for debt relief, as they are effectively unable to maintain payments on debt without extending the debt payments indefinitely. However, most plans to forgive debt affect only the smallest nations, and large debtor nations, like [[Nigeria]], are often excluded from such plans.
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The greatest mortality in Africa arises from preventable [[Waterborne diseases|water-borne diseases]], which affect infants and young children greater than any other group. The principal cause of these diseases is the regional [[Water scarcity|water crisis]], or lack of safe [[drinking water]] primarily stemming from mixing [[sewage]] and [[drinking water|drinking]] [[water supply|water supplies]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Sweetman|first1=Caroline|title=Prelims - Gender and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene|date=2019-01-02|doi=10.3362/9781788530866.000|work=Gender and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene|pages=i–vi|publisher=Practical Action Publishing|isbn=978-1-78853-083-5|last2=Medland|first2=Louise|s2cid=213264119 }}</ref>
Much attention has been given to the prevalence of [[AIDS in Africa]]. 3,000 Africans die each day of AIDS and an additional 11,000 are infected. Less than one percent are actually treated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=HIV and AIDS in East and Southern Africa regional overview|url=https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/overview|date=2015-07-20|website=Avert|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28|archive-date=9 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409175801/https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/overview|url-status=live}}</ref> However, even with the widespread prevalence of AIDS (where infection rates can approach 30% among the sexually active population), and fatal infections such as the [[Ebola virus]], other diseases are far more problematic. In fact, the situation with AIDS is improving in some nations as infection rates drop, and deaths from Ebola are rare. On the other hand, diseases once common but now almost unknown in most of the industrialized world, like [[malaria]], [[tuberculosis]], [[tapeworm]] and [[dysentery]] often claim far more victims, particularly among the young. [[Polio]] has made a comeback recently due to misinformation spread by anti-American Islamic groups in [[Nigeria]]. Diseases native to Africa, such as [[African trypanosomiasis|sleeping sickness]], also resist attempts at elimination too.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Powlson|first=Mark|date=2002-02-01|title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine/The Oxford Illustrated Companion to Medicine|journal=BMJ|volume=324|issue=Suppl S2|pages=020240a|doi=10.1136/sbmj.020240a|s2cid=201883828|issn=1756-1833|pmc=1122017}}</ref>
==Poor infrastructure==
[[File:Décharge agbogbloshie.jpg|thumb|People in [[Agbogbloshie]], near the center of [[Accra]],
Clean [[drinking water|potable water]] is rare in most of Africa (even those parts outside the sub-Saharan region) despite the fact that the continent is crossed by several major rivers and contains some of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. However, many of the major population centres are [[coast]]al, and few major cities have adequate [[sewage treatment]] systems. Although boiling water is a possibility, fuel for boiling is scarce as well. The problem is worst in Africa's rapidly growing cities, such as [[Cairo]], [[Lagos]] and [[Kinshasa]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Urbanization: 1900 to Present: Africa|doi=10.4135/9781452218458.n425|encyclopedia=Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, & Africa: An Encyclopedia|year=2012|publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc.|isbn=978-1-4129-8176-7}}</ref>
[[Colonialism]] concentrated on connecting the coast with internal territories. As such, nearly none of Africa's roads and [[railways]] connect with each other in any meaningful way. Connecting Africa's extensive railway network has recently become a priority for African nations outside of southwest Africa, which has an integrated network. {{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Transportation between neighbouring coastal settlements is nearly always by sea, no matter the topography of the land in between them. Even basic services like telecommunications are often treated the same way. For example, phone calls between [[Ghana]] and neighbouring [[Ivory Coast]] once had to be routed through [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[France]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Although Africa had numerous pre-European overland [[
==Conflict==
[[File:Ongoing conflicts around the world.svg|thumb|Locations of [[List of ongoing armed conflicts|ongoing armed conflicts worldwide]]]]
Despite other hot spots for war, Africa consistently remains among the top places for ongoing conflicts, consisting of both long-standing [[
The long-standing civil wars are in part due to the [[Partition (politics)|border-drawing]] of the late 19th century's [[Scramble for Africa]], which did not take into account the various ethnic groups due to lack of local knowledge and research.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The long-run effects of the Scramble for Africa|url=https://voxeu.org/article/long-run-effects-scramble-africa|last1=Michalopoulos|first1=Stelios|last2=Papaioannou|first2=Elias|date=2012-01-06|website=VoxEU.org|access-date=2020-05-25|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929213952/https://voxeu.org/article/long-run-effects-scramble-africa|url-status=live}}</ref> Post [[Decolonisation of Africa|decolonization]], the European-set borders were accepted by various leaders; however, there remains internal and cross-border struggles, and separatist concerns by popular demand to the governments as they transition to democracy, leading to fears of further destabilization.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dividing of a Continent: Africa's Separatist Problem|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-dividing-of-a-continent-africas-separatist-problem/262171/|last=Fisher|first=Max|date=2012-09-10|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-25|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610193027/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-dividing-of-a-continent-africas-separatist-problem/262171/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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Acts of war and [[terrorism]] further harm the chances of development in the regions concerned as they do not only cause economic downturns but also cause severe damage to the often already underdeveloped infrastructure as well as government shutdowns, further worsen the often already tense safety situation and cause [[Refugee crisis|large numbers of refugees]].
As a result, Africa is full of [[refugees]], who are often deliberately displaced by military forces during a conflict, rather than just having fled from war-torn areas. Although many refugees emigrate to open countries such as [[Germany]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]], the ones who do emigrate are often the most educated and skilled. The remainder often become a burden on neighbouring African nations that, while peaceful, are generally unable to deal with the logistical problems refugees pose as these nations are often already barely capable of fulfilling the needs of their own population.<ref
Civil war usually has the result of totally shutting down all government services. However, any conflict generally disrupts what trade or economy there is. [[Sierra Leone]], which depends on [[diamond]]s for much of its economic activity, not only faces disruption in production (which reduces the supply), but a thriving [[black market]] in [[conflict diamond]]s, which drives down the price for what diamonds are produced.<ref>{{Citation|title=Sierra Leone – War and Peace|date=2012|doi=10.5040/9780755619054.ch-003|work=Civil War and Democracy in West Africa|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-84885-687-5}}</ref>
==Climate change==
The link between [[climate change and poverty]] has been examined.<ref name=ODI>Andrew Shepherd, Tom Mitchell, Kirsty Lewis, Amanda Lenhardt, Lindsey Jones, Lucy Scott and Robert Muir-Wood (2013) [http://www.odi.org/publications/7491-geography-poverty-disasters-climate-change-2030 "The geography of poverty, disasters and climate extremes in 2030"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110135407/http://www.odi.org/publications/7491-geography-poverty-disasters-climate-change-2030 |date=10 November 2014 }} London: [[Overseas Development Institute]]</ref> [[Climate change]] is likely to increase the size, frequency, and unpredictability of natural hazards. However, there is nothing natural about the transformation of natural hazards into disasters. The severity of a disaster's impact is dependent on existing levels of vulnerability, the extent of exposure to disaster event and the nature of the hazard.<ref name=ODI/> A community’s risk to disaster is dynamic and will change over time. It is heavily influenced by the interplay between economic, socio-cultural and demographic factors, as well as skewed development, such as rapid and unplanned [[Urban planning in Africa|
The level of poverty is a key determinant of disaster risk. Poverty increases propensity and severity of disasters and reduces peoples' capacity to recover and reconstruct.<ref name=ODI/> However, vulnerability is not just shaped to poverty, but linked to wider social, political and institutional factors, that govern entitlements and capabilities.
==Effects of poverty==
[[File:African countries by HDI (2020).svg|thumb|250x250px|African countries by Human Development Index 2019 (higher values indicate higher standards of living)
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Catastrophes cause deadly periods of great shortages. The most damaging are the [[famine]]s that have regularly hit the continent, especially the [[Horn of Africa]]. These have been caused by disruptions due to warfare, years of [[drought]], and plagues of [[desert locust|locusts]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, issuing body|title=The impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security, 2017.|date=15 May 2018 |isbn=978-92-5-130359-7|oclc=1032582346}}</ref>
An average African faced annual [[inflation]] of over 60% from 1990 until 2002 in those few countries that account for inflation. At the high end,
== See also ==
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*Founou-Tchuigoua, Bernard [http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu28ae/uu28ae05.htm#3.%20food%20self%20sufficiency:%20crisis%20of%20the%20collective%20ideology Food self-sufficiency: Crisis of the collective ideology] ''African agriculture: The critical choices.'' United Nations University Press (1990) {{ISBN|0-86232-798-9}}
*National Academy of Sciences [http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309049903?OpenDocument ''Lost Crops of Africa:Grains''] {{ISBN|0-309-04990-3}} publication announcement 4 March 1996
*Milich, Lenard (1997) [http://ag.arizona.edu/~lmilich/afoodsec.html Food security in Pre-Colonial Hausaland]
; published in the 21st century
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{{Wikiversity|Eliminating poverty}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050604082331/http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/poverty/ Poverty in Africa] from the [[World Bank]]
* [[African Development Bank Group]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150608040828/https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/topics/poverty-reduction/knowledge-products/ Poverty Reduction: Knowledge Products] (publications)
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/12/land African Development Hindered by Vast US Corporate Interests in Continent’s Resources] – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]''
*UN-OHRLLS [https://
*World Commission on Protected Areas (1995–2006) [
▲*UN-OHRLLS [https://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/list.htm List of Least Developed Countries]
▲*World Commission on Protected Areas (1995–2006) [http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/region/wcafrica/wcafrica.html#issues WCPA West and Central Africa Region Key Issues] The World Conservation Union
{{Africa topics}}
{{Africa topic|Poverty in}}
{{Deprivation Indicators}}
[[Category:Poverty in Africa| ]]
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