How Can We Help the Poor People of Africa?

Helping people help themselves is perhaps best considered in the context of the culture of the people in need of help. This is so as solutions that are effective in building wealth in one part of the World not so effective in another part of the World. For this reason the first step to 'helping' poor people in Africa is to understand the culture and what makes it tick or not tick so well. There are several approaches to solving the poverty problem in Africa, a few of which are outlined below.

Political and Economic cures:

Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are only part of the solution to building wealth as the loans these institutions offer can only help if a country is stable enough and willing to make a long term commitment in building wealth from the loans. If the ventures aren't profitable, the loans can't be paid back well and problems persist. Thus political and economic expertise must be combined with a willingness of both the political institutions and a good portion of the nation to apply the loans correctly.

Health Related Poverty:

Aids and Malaria are big health problems in Africa. If an adequate health system can't be put in place or is ineffective new solutions must be found. Unconventional ideas like demographic scattering, natural prevention and stylized education may be potential solutions to this problem that plagues African's health and economy.

Individual solutions:

Africans are not North Americans, Asians or Europeans. For this reason understanding how nations within the continent of Africa think is important in finding solutions that suit their lifestyle, dreams and ambitions. Social solutions that work for Americans do not necessarily work for the same social problems that exist to a greater extent in Africa. Grassroots village and town solutions are the place to start in this type of problem solving approach. By working with local people and leaders problems can be better identified and solutions to those problems can be developed collaboratively.

Investment and Business approaches:

Micro financing such as that endorsed by Muhammad Yunus is also a possible solution. Yunus has demonstrated micro financing works in situations where individuals wish to be more productive with their God given/natural talents. The micro loans are given under the honor code with the expectation the money will be used to by supplies needed such as raw textiles, tools and other essentials needed in applying skill and talent. Provided a will, desire and potential market exist for the product of these micro loans many individuals can be empowered to help themselves.

For investors and businesses to want to invest in African nations, they have to be convinced there will be a return on their investment. Non-profit investment on the other hand is more willing to explore such investment solutions. Assisting collaborative investment and business planning may be a turn key type solution to building infrastructure and other 'necessities' of a developing World.

Environmental Assistance:

Another obstacle in Africa is the environment as drought, lack of arable land and clean water are very important in sustaining life and the fruits of life. For this reason, cost effective environmental solutions that enable a steady supply of water for localized agricultural needs is essential if a nation is not going to have the ability to import food from other countries. Crops that grow well in hot dry climates, genetically modified crops, and subsidized nutritional programs can all help lower the cost of living and improve the health of Africans so they may have the capacity to live and work.

Solving the poverty problem in Africa is a multi-tiered solution that involves understanding and working with the culture, political and economic systems, businesses and people of African countries. Simply throwing money at a problem is not enough. Prudent and actionable investment that takes into account past, present and future conditions of a nation have more potential than half-developed solutions. Stabilizing a countries political and economic systems and/or protecting a nation from 'broken' systems is a large and important step in assisting a nation build wealth in addition to understanding the will of the people and what they are willing and able to do if such a stable environment exists or is supported.

Sources:

http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/BPEA EndingAfricasPovertyTrapFINAL.pdf
http://www.acton.org/ppolicy/comment/article.php?a rticle=348

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is derived from data assimilation, thought and reference(s). All conclusions and/or postulations are intended as logical derivatives of said sources of knowledge and do not necessarily represent the opinion(s) and/or belief of the author.