Africa’s got 99 problems.
Global Economy...corruption *does a pushup* 98... 99…
Africa needs our help!! Just not where you think they would. Last week in "Guy's...Africa Isn't a Country" I was heavily promoting the “Rising Africa Narrative”. However, in my quest of covering Africa accurately there is always the flip side of the issue. The misrepresentation of nations in Africa not only cover up the good, but sometimes even the bad. Charities are sweet, but they are only a short term solution. It isn’t addressing the problems at hand. Let’s go through some problems that significantly affect countries in Africa.
Exhibit A: Ethiopia’s economy is 66% dependent on exporting beans. The main reason that they still have a lack of food for their own people is because of companies that transport the food to richer countries. They do this because it is more profitable, and leave behind the people supplying them with food in the first place.
Exhibit B:
Even though aid is given with good intentions. It isn’t given straight to the people. The 30 billion dollars given every year doesn’t help those who genuinely need it, it helps out on the debt they have. It’s ridiculous what they owe or what is being ignored. There are 35 billion dollars skipped out in tax evasions and havens, 37 billion dollars spent on adapting to climate change that they aren’t heavily contributing to, and much more.
These two examples only graze the surface of what issues are actually affecting the growth of economies. I heavily encourage going through the infographics on this site. They are all super informative and really help break apart where everything goes.
Even though part two of this series was a bit of a downer, it’s an important aspect of how Africa is misrepresented and what problems need more attention. I encourage to learn about your favourite food brands and find out where everything was grown and if the company pays their workers properly. You can also check out charities you donate to and see if they are actually doing what they promised to do.
