Why focus on Africa?

Many Africans living south of the Sahara grow up without access to basic necessities, like sufficient food, clean water, primary education, and public health services to combat preventable illnesses. As a result, the potential of individuals as well as nations goes unrealized.

  • One in three Africans suffers from malnutrition.
  • Over 50 million African children do not attend primary school.
  • Some 24 million Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS; this epidemic threatens to devastate the social and economic life of the continent, where it has already created more than 10 million orphans.

Despite this disturbing reality, Africa does offer success stories. These gains demonstrate that significant improvements are achievable. But in order to multiply them throughout the continent, Africa needs a kind of Marshall Plan: a coordinated effort on the part of the international community similar to the one that helped Europe recover from World War II. After that war, the US feared that economic instability in Europe would provide an entry for communism. Today, the potential threats to US security are different but, regardless, healthy economic and democratic systems in Africa create a better and safer world for everyone.

The economic, political, and social problems Sub-Saharan Africa faces are substantial, but developments both new and old - disease-fighting strategies, information technology, and new thinking about development aid - mean that progress against these problems is within reach.

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