There are several causes of poverty in Africa, Some of the major ones are: include: war and armed conflict, poor farm policy, lack of access to credit, rampant unemployment, lack of access to education, and disease.
- WAR AND ARMED CONFLICT
Constant war and conflict in Africa makes it very difficult to grow crops, continue to work in an office, or earn money. Ordinary life becomes impossible, as people are forced to flee their homes.
Thus, productivity goes down, and poverty rates shoot up.
Good examples are countries like Congo, Liberia, Sudan and Northern part of Nigeria, where a long civil war killed half a million people and left 3.8 million people displaced. Virtually all the country's infrastructure was destroyed in the conflict, and more than three-quarters of the population fell into extreme poverty. Today, 75% of these countries make their living through subsistence farming, working fields that conceal left-over landmines.
- POOR FARM POLICY
African governments are often forced to sell their crops for a very cheap rate, to allow them to remain current on their foreign debt load. African governments normally squeezes every last penny out of their agricultural sector, imposing export taxes and commodity taxes on production. This drives up prices and drives down wages, increasing poverty rates. Meanwhile the governments of European nations and the US do the opposite: they subsidize farmers to the tune of £300 billion per year.
In addition, their produce.
- LACK OF ACCESS TO CREDIT
Micro-lending organizations are helping to sort out this problem by giving loans to the very poor. . Although, the system is still growing, it may cause substantial improvements in the lives of many of Africa's poorest people.
The very poor can't get a bank loan or a credit card with which to make basic purchases that could help lift them out of poverty. The amount needed is not always much, it is only a tiny cash infusion between £10-£200, to buy some food, seeds for farming, machines, fertilisers, a sewing machine, etc., this is often impossible for people in poverty. They don't have any collateral, or income, and they don't have a credit record.
- UNEMPLOYMENT
Employment is the main route out of poverty for poor people in an underdeveloped countries. Most African graduates can't find work, The government does little or less to create more jobs for African nations. A lot of Africans have turned into Armed robbers, blood money rituals, secret cults organisations, migrating outside Africa and turning into prostitution in a way to survive. With so many people out of work, it's little wonder that economic productivity is low, and poverty rates high.
- LACK OF ACCESS TO EDUCATION
The price of basic education can be out of reach for many poor families. In addition to school fees, parents also have to buy uniforms, books, and possibly lunch for their students, and many families simply can't afford it. Parents will normally sell their farm lands to send their children, Most children waits between 2-5yrs for their older siblings to come out of school before going to school because their parents can't afford to train more than 1 child in school .
- DISEASE
Africa suffers from epidemics of cholera, measles, and polio, malaria parasite have caused a lot of death in Africa especially small children. AIDS is another killer disease in Africa , 24 million people are infected with HIV.
CONCLUSION
It will be difficult to solve Africans poverty complex problem , The world must continue to try their best, African leaders must recognise that there is a big problem in Africa and then willing to inhabit change , most African leaders are corrupt and makes things worse for their fellow Africans. The only solution for Africans are to turn to Almighty God for help.
