GFA World is Working Against Poverty in Africa

Africa is a land rich with natural resources and culture. It should be bursting with opportunity, wealth and hope, but instead, poverty in Africa runs rampant, leaving the people in major need of help. The percentage of Africans living in poverty has decreased from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015, which seems like great progress, but given the continent’s high population growth, the total number of people in poverty has actually increased from 278 million to 415 million people in the same time period. Africa is the fastest-growing continent with an average fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman. Of the people in Africa in poverty, 82 percent of them are in rural areas and earn what little money they have through farming. Fragile and conflict-laden areas have higher poverty rates, and a lack of education, health and skills perpetuate the problem further. That, along with persistent inequality between men and women, make it more difficult to reduce the staggering poverty rate.[1]

When it comes to poverty in Africa, facts serve as a wakeup call and show the dire need for help on the continent. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa, including Zimbabwe, Liberia, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, which is ranked the poorest country in the world. One in three people in sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished, and the estimates of undernourishment rose from 777 million in 2015 to 821 million in 2017. In the same region, 589 million people live without electricity and rely on burning things like wood, charcoal or dung to cook their meals. About 738 million people globally lack access to clean water, and 37 percent of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in 500 million African people suffering from waterborne illnesses. According to one estimate, more than 50 percent of Africans have a water-related disease, like cholera.[2]