Africa Facing the Challenges of 21st Century - Essay Example

The second-largest continent in the world is Africa. Africa should be one of the most advanced economies in the world. This is can be attributed to a number of factors. These factors include the presence of minerals, enormous workforce as a result of the high population, expansive infrastructure due to the wide geographical cover, and finally, Africa has people who have a hardworking culture hence can contribute a lot to the economy of the continent.

Despite this, Africa I ranked the most underdeveloped continent in the world. In fact, out of the 50 most underdeveloped countries, 37 of them are countries in Africa (Krabacher, Kalipeni & Layachi 3)Indeed Africa is underdeveloped and a majority of its member countries are considered by the outside world as third world counties. This can be attributed to a number of factors. One significant factor that has affected Africa is the presence of poor governance and corruption among government officials in most of its member countries. These leaders steal the country’s wealth running the continent dry. Another factor that has attributed to Africa’s poor economy is pandemics especially HIV/AIDs. HIV/AIDs has killed a lot of people in Africa hence limiting its workforce (Krabacher, Kalipeni & Layachi 3). Governments have used billions of dollars in trying to eradicate the disease. This money could have been used for development.

Another factor that has led to the underdevelopment of Africa is wars and conflicts. Countries have fort both internally and with each other with the aim of controlling mineral resources. This has in turn scared investors away hence limiting the growth of Africa’s economy. Poor climate and inappropriate agriculture methods are other key factors that have limited Africa’s growth. This is because most of the African lands are covered with arid and semi-arid areas. Where there is a good climate in Africa, people use poor farming methods which encourage soil erosion which renders land unsuitable for cultivation. Small-scale farming is also a problem in Africa since most people do not produce food for economic purposes.

However, Africa is rising up, and its economy is rising steadily. African countries are taking measures to rid themselves of corruption and poor leadership. They are setting up commissions to investigate corrupt leaders and promote civic education on the choosing of appropriate leaders, governments are also investing a lot in infrastructure which is, in turn, attracting investors hence increasing its economy. Governments are also giving loans to farmers in order for them to undertake large-scale farming.