Question.2362 - Assignment 8: Summary and Reflection on Sub-Saharan Africa The summaries and reflections on the topics that we will discuss throughout the semester are designed to insure that you have reviewed the PowerPoint presentations carefully and thought about the important points and critical issues. All of the summaries and reflections will have the same format and include two sections: Part 1 - a simple list of important points and critical issues that we have covered in each of the subject or geographic areas, much like the table of contents of a book, an outline of a book chapter, or a list of key statements from each of the sections covered in one or more PowerPoint slides of each presentation, and Part 2 - your reflection or comments on each topic, or one or more selected elements of each topic. The first part clearly represents a brief overview of each topic. The second part is designed to show that you have seriously thought about some of the important points and critical issues and to demonstrate your thoughtful reactions or creative ideas. Abundant archaeological evidence indicates that Homo sapiens originated and evolved in Africa and migrated to the rest of the world in three major waves of expansion. Trade networks and concentrated human settlements/urban centers emerged in West Africa around 4,000 years ago and gradually spread to other parts of the continent, leading to the development of many empires and kingdoms such as the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire, the Kanem Empire, the Bornu Empire, the Ashanti Empire, the Kingdom of Nri, the Kingdoms of If? and Oyo, and the Kingdom of Benin. Then, the Sub-Saharan African countries were divided and ruled by colonial powers and devastated by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Most of the Sub-Saharan countries have only become independent during the last 25-60 years. Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. Africa's average population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Today, many of the Sub-Saharan countries are among the least developed countries in the world. Many of them continue to suffer from new or intensified and protracted conflicts and face severe food insecurity or crisis. On the other hand, the Sub-Saharan region is rich in resources. As of 2011, Africa is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies over the previous decade were situated below the Sahara. For your commentary or reflection on Sub-Saharan Africa, please focus on the challenges, opportunities and best strategies for promoting sustainable economic development in the Sub- Saharan countries, providing food security to their people, and playing a much more significant and equitable role in regional and global affairs. Part 1 (simple list of important points and critical issues) should be about one-page long (single space). Part 2 (your commentary or reflection) should be about two pages (double space and 12-point size). Please submit your completed assignment as a WORD document or pdf file through the Blackboard by clicking “Assignments” and then following the on-screen instructions.
Answer Below:
Table of Contents Part-1 3 Part-2 4 References 6 3 Part-1 The foremost issue must be the ongoing impact of colonization in Africa by western nations. As the colonial powers, the forms of governments, borders, languages, values, culture and religion move into the region and change their indigenous heritage. This has long-term effects on sub-Saharan Africa. Colonization is also affecting the economic development in the nation nevertheless. The sub-Saharan nation of Africa is facing the challenges or issues of environmental factors such as soil erosion, deforestation, wetland degradation, desertification and insect infection. The most significant issue of wildlife extinction is the outcome of colonization, as the colonizers are engaged in hunting as if it is a sport for them. In the sub-Saharan nation of Africa, conservation and tourism act as the national revenue source. It has been seen that tourism has an impact on the environment in Africa empirically. Currently, for the government, there are challenges in wildlife management and tourism as there are several issues of protecting the wildlife from hunting and poaching by the local people. The government also take necessary steps for stopping the loss of biodiversity in Africa. The legacies of colonization are another critical issue in the nation of Africa as it is shown in the political map and in the chronic instability of the nation. The infrastructure of the country has been exploited such as rail, ports and roads because of colonialism. Multilingualism is one of the significant issues in the sub-Saharan nation of Africa. It arises the issue of the difficulty of selecting between the local language and the colonial language. Due to colonization, the local indigenous people of Africa have to lose their ethnicity in terms of language. In some of the regions, the colonizers were utilizing the justification of improving their lifestyle for the imposition of the western religion on the local people. As the local African people have to turn away from their traditional beliefs, they had lost their cultural identity which acts as the perception of an individual. The health issue in Africa is a serious matter due to the fact that Africa is the source of serious diseases. The contributors are uncontrolled malaria, poor quality of the drug, issues of health insurance, atmospheric health nexus and geriatric care. These cause other problems such as maternal-child health issues, intimate partner violence, cardiovascular diseases and the lack of food safety. The issue of limited commercial farming is the outcome of the government’s vast promotion of industrial projects and the neglecting the agricultural marketing. There are numerous barriers which limit the achievement of farming in Africa especially small-scale farming. The governmental policies which promote the exportation of crops act as the prevention for the farmers to the commercial activities. The country, Africa encountered the issue of the rapid growth of population in urban areas. African cities are changing in both formal and informal sectors. The ingression of the population in the urban areas is resulting in the development of health problems, such as both communicable and non-communicable diseases, poor nutrition, poor housing and sanitation situation. 4 Part-2 The colonization of the sub-Saharan nations especially Africa does not affect the nation temporarily as the impact of both colonization and neo-colonization could be seen in today's news. A few of the negative impacts which are linked with colonization are the degradation of urbanization and the natural resources of the country. The introduction of new diseases also resulted from this colonization. Foreign diseases are affecting the humans and livestock in the country which has changed their social system of living. The colonizers are involved in clearing up the vast areas for their settlements. They are responsible for pushing wildlife creatures to near extinction. The utilization of harmful fuels such as crop waste, wood and coal causes air pollution specifically while burned through poorly ventilated and inefficient stoves. These uses have resulted in the environmental problems of air pollution, and other issues that could be prevented by stopping the use of harmful biomass fuels. But it could not be forgettable that colonization is a significant responsibility in current environmental issues. If tourism activities are increased, the environmental condition also worsens with it. As it has been viewed that in improving the quality of the environment of Africa the use of renewable energy could be beneficial, the government must have to focused on that. Apart from that the government also save wildlife form being hunted by the local people. As the local people are deriving most of their livelihood from the land, the government must have to implement the required strategies. 5 Colonization has been overcome in the sub-Saharan nation of Africa but the legacies have a negative impact on the nation. The legacies have led to the exhibition of economic downturn, slow decay of the centralized state of Africa, failure in business marketing at the international level, degression in participation and democratic stability and also the ingression of disconnection between the traditional and formal organizations. Colonialism brought the religion of Christianity to Africa and spread it across the nation which in turn affected the indigenous people's traditional beliefs. The local people have been forced to adopt the western religion. Further, there have been seen the tenants of Islam religion that are uncompromisable. The health issues in the nation must be approached by efficient management and health- administration structure as health issues not only impact the individuals personally but it impacts the overall productivity of the nation. The efficient management and storage system, acquisition of rudimentary data, sufficient training and education approach and strong infrastructure would be helping in overcoming the health issue. The farmers in the sub-Saharan nation of Africa are encountering the issue of limitations of commercial farming which resulted from the obstacles. These obstacles must be overcome both by the governmental and NGO interventions such as controlling the climate issues, executing innovative education and technology, strong financial management and effective infrastructure and policies. The government have to combat the population development issue in urban areas by promoting job creation and economic development. More and more local communities have to 6 engage in activities of the local government. To provide the services like housing and waste disposal the local government must be engaged in creating a private-public partnership.
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