The continent of Africa is made up of four regions: Northern Africa, Central Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. Within these regions, there are 55 recognized countries in total. 53 are recognized by both the UN (United Nations) and AU (African Union). Morocco is a member of the UN, but not the AU, while Western Sahara is a member of the AU, but not the UN (Africa Check). It is estimated that there are between 1500-2000 spoken languages in Africa that are divided into six groups: Afro Asiatic, Nila Saharan, Niger Congo A & B, Khoisan, Austronesian (nationsonline.org). I think it is safe to say that Africa is a very diverse continent.
That is why there are some issues when it comes foreign aid. With the differing languages and cultures within each country, it can be hard to unify the people groups, especially when there are governments full of corruption. So corrupt that seven out of ten people in Liberia have admitted to paying bribes in order to receive healthcare and schooling (CNN). The chair of Transparency International, Jose Ugaz, put out a statement that said, "Corruption creates and increases poverty and exclusion. While corrupt individuals with political power enjoy a lavish life, millions of Africans are deprived of their basic needs like food, health, education, housing, access to clean water and sanitation."
If we can admit that there is corruption in African governments, then why do big corporations continue to give them money. The foreign aid has made the poor even poorer. In a Wall Street Journal article, Dambisa Moyo states that rich countries have donated over $1 trillion of development-related aid to African countries over the past 60 years. I'm sorry, but donating money is not enough to help the African poor. In the article Why Foreign Aid Fails-and How To Really Help Africa, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson tell us that those who live in sub-Saharan Africa are even poorer that they were in 1960. They also say, "Poverty is instead created by economic institutions that systematically block the incentives and opportunities of poor people to make things better for themselves, their neighbours and their country."
If the money sent from rich countries and big corporations was instead used to put people on the ground to work one on one with the poor, then maybe we would be able to see improvement. There is a need for tailored development. Poverties.org says that the policymakers need to start thinking of "context-based strategies" since a large majority of the population lives in landlocked regions that have very few resources. It is also said that there would need to be a continuous flow of the aid received from other countries in order to have steadily raised consumption levels that will consistently lower poorness. This actually does make sense. The landlocked countries do not have the resources that we have.Yes, they are sometimes given supplies, but they quickly run out. Then, they are right back where they started.
The poverty rate will not lower and the health of the people will not improve in a day. And it most definitely won't happen if countries and corporations continue to give money to governments filled with corruptions. We need to focus on the different needs of each country and there has to be a way to set up a stable government whose focus is on the people. Until that happens, very little will change and the cycle will continue.
