Issues

Issues toc = = == =HIV/AIDS= The severest problem in Sub-Saharan Africa right now is HIV/AIDS. Proven to be a deadly disease, AIDS is spreading life wildfire and unfortunately, 67% of the entire world's AIDS patients reside in this region as of 2009. AIDS is a heartbreaking phenomenon to see in the Sub-Sahara because it is affecting the infant mortality rates too. Such is the emergency of this disease that various international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) are sending nurses to Africa. The core of the problem lies in the lack of education regarding safe sex and contraceptives, and the international community is trying to alleviate the problem in whatever ways.

= = == =Environment= The struggle with the environment is one of the hottest issues in Sub-Saharan Africa right now. Because of continued phenomena like deforestation, uncontrolled mining and so on, its rich resources are depleting at a fast rate. The Congo Basin Forest is also in a huge danger because of these selfish human activities. More details in Theme 3- Human & Environment Interaction !!!

= = == =Water Stress= Astonishingly, although Sub-Saharan Africa has made itself available to a vast pool of water resources that is the second largest in the world, the people are still suffering from water stress. Water stress, or the clear lack of water, is caused by factors such as draught and contamination. Firstly, because of the expanding Sahara Desert, drought has become a severe problem for the Africans, which can be attributed to the global warming phenomenon. Simultaneously, there are huge disparities regarding access to safe water. Because availability of sanitation infrastructures differ so contrastingly, some countries are able to enjoy clean water while some other countries can expect next to zero clean water. For example, South Africa itself has close to 600 large dams, whereas Tanzania has only 2. And since South Africa possesses more than half of the total number of large dams in this region, most countries do indeed have troubles accessing clean water.

= = =Corruption= "Of the ten countries considered most corrupt in the world, six are in a Sub-Saharan Africa" (Transparency International) Corruption is widely spread in this poverty-ridden region. Political leaders often abuse their power to receive bribes and other forms of illegal transactions of money out of selfishness. If you had been following the news, in 2008, there was an outrage and public disapproval regarding the Zimbabwen President, Mugabe, who assumed dictatorship and refused to accept the results of a true election. He was alleged to have changed election results, brought about immense inflation to the country and heavily controlled the media. Corruption often occurs in daily lives, too, as you can see from the picture. Such happenings have occurred too frequently that it has been accepted as a norm.

=Blood Diamond= Though this issue is relevant more specifically to West Africa, Blood Diamond is indeed a serious issue here. Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are used to fund civil wars in West Africa. In such civil conflicts, rebels and revolutionary forces would often sell blood diamonds to foreign countries in order to acquire money. It poses two main problems: 1. Environment: By digging up diamonds in large quantities and selling them off, the Sub-Saharan Africans are exploiting the environment severely. 2. Civil war: The fund from blood diamonds are used to acquire massive weapons that would aid them in the wars. These countries involved Angola, Congo, Liberia and Zimbabwe, with the most serious cases happening in Angola. Although the UN had forbidden other countries from buying these blood diamonds, a lot of behind-the-back deals are being made even today.

Back to Main ** Citations ** http://www.chicagobooth.edu/magazine/29/2/images/AIDS.jpg http://www.internationalreportingproject.org/stories/detail/1268/ http://www.cfr.org/publication/11240/water_stress_in_subsaharan_africa.html http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/Deforestation.htm http://www.popandpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/blooddiamond98asf8.jpg