Assigned Reading 5

Reading 5

Book--The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
Chapter 10--The Voiceless Dying: Africa and Disease
Author--Jeffery Sachs
Publisher--The Penguin Press, New York: 2005

Background

• the colonial rule era left Africa without educated citizens/leaders, infrastructure, and public health facilities
• after the colonial rule ear, the west stifled African nationalism/independence--Africa was a pawn in the cold war...the western world opposed them getting help from Russia--African leaders that promoted nationalism were opposed by the west--the CIA and Belgium assassinated Lumumba (Congo Prime Minister)--the United States also supported violent Angolan leader Savimi
• the west would not invest in long-term African economic development and they knew that is what Africa needed
• some say corruption is the problem with Africa's economic problems--but there many corrupt countries with thriving economies (India, Pakistan)

First Encounters

• physical geography hurts many African economies--not many navigable rivers and inlets that allow low-cost, sea-based trading
• areas of low population density are very common throughout the country--they usually lack transportation vehicles, electricity, and communication devices--these areas define rural Africa where the economic situation is the worse
• most Africans also suffer from deadly diseases: AIDS and malaria...the average life expectancy in sub-Sahara Africa is 47 years old

The Malaria Mystery

• malaria is treatable, but it claims nearly 3 million lives per year--mostly children, and out of all the children affected by the disease, 90% come from Africa--treatment for malaria is relatively low-cost
• virtually everybody in tropical Africa contract malaria at least once a year
• maps that overlay malaria transmission and low GDP show the same areas are affected--malaria implies poverty...and poverty implies malaria
• when children die in mass numbers, parents will overcompensate by having many children, but only 1 child will receive education because of poverty...so when malaria causes not as many children to receive education

Why Malaria is more common in Africa and how it occurs

• a mosquito bites a person with malaria
• then it takes 2 weeks for the mosquito to process the disease
• after 2 weeks, the mosquito when it bites someone gives them the disease
• the warm African climate lets mosquitoes process the original malaria bite in a shorter time span...it takes African mosquitoes less than 2 weeks to process the disease after the original bite
• mosquitoes can also relinquish the disease by biting cattle after the original infection...but African mosquitoes bite humans almost 100% of the time for some reason
• malaria is also not a major concern in Africa to many outsiders

Conclusions/Findings

• disease implies poverty...poverty implies disease
• Africa has a low life expectancy because: diseases, nutritional deficiencies, unsafe childbirth
• how much should the rich help the poor invest in health is a major question...$6-27 billion should be given...the rich combined GDP = $25 trillion...so 1/1000 of this would be about $25 billion...it is estimated that this amount could avert 8 million deaths per year

We as a generation can do something dramatic to improve our world.