Africa

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Africa
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Africa Overview

• Background
• Culture and Religion
• Economic and Social Issues
• Politics and Government

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Africa

• An Overview

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Africa Overview Video
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African People

• Negroids
• Caucasoids

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African Culture

• Family Importance
• Marriage and Procreation
• Women
• Arts and Music

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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

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African Culture

• Marriage and Procreation
• Children represent the bond between their
  parents families
• The number of children is a source of pride and
  prestige
• Children are also valued as a source of labor
  when necessary

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African Culture

• Women
• Perform most domestic tasks care for children,
  sick and elderly collect firewood and water
  grow/harvest food
• Traditionally limited access to education and
  subservient to men by custom or law
• Status is improving in most communities

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African Culture

• Arts and Music
• Originally created to record historical events
  or for religious purposes
• African music has influenced almost all music of
  the world

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African Religions

• Christianity
• Islam
• Traditional Beliefs

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Economics

• 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.

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Economics

• Many traditional jobs
• Fishing, herding, hunting, gathering

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Economics

• Large city migration

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Economics

• High unemployment
• 1/2 of Africans live on lt 1 Per day

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Social Issues

• Critical Health Problems

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Realities of Africas devastating health
situation?

• Africa has 12 of the world population, but in
  1999, had 70 of the worlds HIV/AIDS cases
• By the end of this decade, some of the hardest
  hit regions from HIV/AIDS will have life
  expectancies of lt 30yrs.

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What are some reasons for Africas devastating
health situation?

• Unsanitary Conditions
• ¼ population undernourished
• Lack of funding for preventative health care and
  medicine

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 20th century, Africa had become
  53 independent countries.

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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

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World Affairs

• 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.

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World Affairs

• Africa is also important for economic reasons
• Europe-Asia
• Africa also has many close ties to the U.S..
• 13 percent of U.S. population is of African
  descent

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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 Africas 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.

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Africa Summary

• Background
• Culture and Religion
• Economic and Social Issues
• Politics and Government