Understanding Poverty and Its Contribution To Where Africa Is Today

Understanding poverty and where it will lead a country if left unchallenged is much more complex than identifying relative income. “Poverty, as the poor themselves see it, goes far beyond low income,   encompassing also a lack of access to health and education, as well as vulnerability, voicelessness,       and powerlessness” (Uvin, 123). This belief that poverty is a compound composed of an array of issues is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR recognizes the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of a person and the right to education. Despite the intellectual developments in the realm of world poverty and human rights, devastating reality remains. “In the developing world 1.2 billion people are income poor, about 1 billion adults illiterate, 1 billion without safe water and more than 2.4 billion without basic sanitation. “In the OECD countries, even with an average life expectancy of 76 years, more than 10% of people born today are not expected to survive to age 60. And in some industrialized countries one person in five is functionally illiterate” (HDR 2000). If the international community does not commit to diminishing poverty, poverty defined as the lack of health, education, and powerlessness, we will continue to watch revolutions that produce outcomes similar to that of the 1990’s. “War and internal conflicts in the 1990s forced 50 million people to flee their homes—1 person of every 120 on earth. In the past decade, civil wars have killed 5 million people worldwide. At the end of 1998 more than 10 million people were refugees, 5 million were internally displaced and another 5 million were returnees” (HDR 2000).

From the development of the UDHR, as well as case studies relative to the revolution occurring on the continent of Africa today, we find continuity in issues that act as a catalyst to the cry for change. As aforementioned, the lack of accessibility plays an unequivocal role in measuring poverty. When measuring the ability to access healthcare, Africa is beyond poor. “More than 12 million Africans have died of AIDS, and by 2010 the continent will have 40 million orphans”(HDR 2000). Additionally, Nearly 70 percent of all adults infected with HIV can be found in Africa, and 80 percent of the affected children worldwide are located in Africa”(Rothchild, 9). This is more than a health issue. This pandemic is a depravity of basic human rights and dignity. The detrimental effect this holds not only in the individual lives of those infected, but the continent in totality, is incompatible with development. Clearly, the connection between this health care inefficiency and that of powerlessness, voicelessness, and vulnerability are evident; all of which are elements encompassed within poverty.

Although programs have been developed to open markets to Africa, it is not enough. “Africa is a continent mired in debt. The fact that African countries must devote so much of their annual GDP to debt servicing and repayment reduces the amount available for tackling such social problems as communicable diseases, poverty, and underdevelopment” (Rothchild, 10). “In 1996 the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a project to help poor countries address their debt crises. This project, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, initially targeted forty-one countries (thirty-three in Africa) for debt relief” (Rothchild, 10).

From destitution comes the harsh realization of vulnerability. Unfortunately, the response to vulnerability all to often comes in the form of war. “It has been found that a sense of insecurity among certain groups invariably leads to group conflict and political instability” (Rothchild, 12). It is hard to grasp the impact of inhabiting a continent plagued with war, and the collateral damage incurred by those exposed to its elements. However, consider the fact that, in the last decade, Africa endured the civil war of Sierra Leone, Cote D’Iviore, and Sudan; War between the Democratic republic of Congo, Angola, Namibia, Burundi, and Rwanda; War between western region of Darfur, between African Muslims and Arab Muslims, as well as the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea” (Rothchild, 11-15). What is critical to recognize with such an extreme proliferation of civil war spread throughout the continent, is the continuity in what contributes to inspiring conflict, poverty. “[U]sing recently developed models of the overall incidence of civil war in 161 countries between 1960 and 1999, we draw lessons with special reference to Africa, showing that the relatively higher incidence of war in Africa is not due to the ethno-linguistic fragmentation of its countries, but rather to high levels of poverty” (Sambanis). This elements of war, undoubtedly fortifies the powerlessness, voicelessness, and vulnerability already sustained by poverty. Furthermore, with the inability to feel safe, how is that conducive to the ability to develop on any level, from education to healthcare, from small businesses to government establishments? It is simply not possible. Additionally, it has been found common that the ability to fund such civil wars have been a considerable cost. The cost of civil wars and internal conflicts has LED to the intentional exploitation, and severe violations of human rights of innocent citizens. From sex trafficking and forced indebted servitude to the millions who have perished due to violence, the human tole is astonishing.

If we as human beings learn anything from what has unfolded, from past to present, on the continent of Africa, it would be that poverty is deeper than dollar signs. The ability to provide assistance requires not just funds, but development of programs in education, health care, and controlling civil war epidemics. “Countries saw some immediate progression, as funds were being allocated to, “their most pressing problems, such as in the areas of public health and social and economic development” (Rothchild, 10). However, the ability to sustain development while eliminating the vulnerability of an impoverished continent, weighs heavy on the ability of governments to give rise to democracy. Government of a people, in simplest form is established for the people. When millions die of starvation and AIDS, when hundreds of thousands parish due to civil wars, when millions are displaced, and when the populous as a majority live in a constant state of poverty, revolutions take rise. In the words of Thomas Paine, “ When we survey the wretched condition of man under the monarchical and hereditary systems of government, dragged from his home by one power, or driven by another, and impoverished by taxes more than by enemies it becomes evident that those systems are bad, and that a general revolution in the principle and construction of government is necessary” (P 117).

References:

1. Peter Uvin, Human Rights and Development, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc., 2004.
2. HDR 2000, pp. 29–55 (Struggles for human freedoms). [Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_2000_ch2.pdf.]
3. Donald Rothchild, Edmond J. Keller, Africa-US Relations Strategic Encounters, Lynne Riener Publishers, Inc., 2006.
4. Journal of African Economies (2000) 9(3): 244-269. doi: 10.1093/jae/9.3.244, Oxford University Press E Elbadawi and N Sambanis [Available at . jae.oxfordjournals.org]
5. Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books., 1987.

© 2011, Wesley J. Martinez. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at 2:27 PM and is filed under Front Page. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.