FREE ESSAY ON SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Introduction 2
Population 4
Fertility 4
Causes of High Fertility 5
Cultural determinants of fertility 5
Mortality 5
Migration and Refugee Issues 6
Agricultural Performance 7
Women's Time, and Their Role in Rural Production and Household Maintenance Systems 7
An Action Plan 8
Reducing Fertility Rates 8
Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture 8
Infrastructure Development and Settlement Policy 10
Water 10
Poverty 11
HIV/AIDS 11
Slowing Population Growth 12
Conclusion 12
Bibliography 15
Introduction
Africa's hopes for a better future depend in large part on improving the health of its
people. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a period of extraordinary change. Across the
continent, policy reforms are contributing to dynamic economic growth. Greater political
openness has strengthened the commitment of African governments to meeting the basic
needs of their people.
Despite these positive trends, sub-Saharan Africa faces a development challenge greater
than any other region. Much of the continent's population remains desperately poor. With
record numbers of adolescents entering their childbearing years, in less than three
decades Africa's population is projected to double again from the current level of 620
million. Meanwhile, many African nations are struggling to provide health and education
services to populations expanding at a small percent a year. In many countries, rapid
population growth is contributing to degradation of the environment and undermining
prospects for prosperity. Africa's hopes for a better future depend in large part on
improving the health of its people. Better access to good quality reproductive health
services, particularly family planning, is key to improving health status - especially
for women. The reality of reproductive health in Africa, however, is far from ideal.
Women begin child-bearing in their teens and have an average of six children. 
Meanwhile, AIDS has struck hard in Sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly 1 in 10 adults
- both men and women - are infected with HIV. Yet traditional attitudes favoring large
families are changing rapidly, owing to the growth of cities, the rising cost of living
and lower child death rates, among other factors. Demand for family planning has
increased dramatically in some countries, and the decline in birthrates ,limited as
recently as a decade ago to only a few countries in the region, appears to be spreading
steadily across the continent.
In much of Africa, however, large families are still the norm. This situation is
reinforced by low levels of education, particularly among women, and social barriers to
the full economic
participation of women. Yet, school enrollment rates declined or came to a standstill
during the economic crisis many African countries experienced in the 1980s. Compared to
countries in other developing regions, African countries have only recently begun to
adopt population policies and initiate family planning and related reproductive health
programs. However, African governments increasingly recognize the individual and societal
benefits of smaller families. In the last decade there has been steady growth in the
number of countries establishing national family planning programs and in the scope of
these efforts.
Still, Sub-Saharan Africa has a long way to go. In addition to meeting the growing need
for family planning and reproductive health services, African countries must expand
access to education for girls and economic opportunities for women. This will require
significantly increased financial contributions from African governments and house-holds,
as well as international donors.
In sum, addressing poor reproductive health and rapid population growth is a daunting 
task requiring comprehensive action on many different fronts. A priority area is
population growth. This is a function of birth or fertility, mortality, and net
migration.
Population Growth. 
Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind other regions in its demographic transition. The total
fertility rate, the total number of children the average woman has in a lifetime. For
Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole has remained at about 6.5 for the past 25 years, while it
has declined to about 4 in all developing countries taken together. Recent surveys appear
to signal, however, that several counties, are at or near a critical demographic turning
point. 
Fertility
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to maintain the highest total fertility rates in the world.
The total fertility rate is the average number of children a women will bear during her
reproductive years, usually between 15 and 49 years old, although some analysts have
expanded this range to include 10 and 55 year old's. Families in the region average an
estimated 6.4 children. Although there is considerable variation by region, socioeconomic
status, and place of residence (rural vs. urban). Disease vectors are not solely
responsible for low fertility rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries have made
significant inroads in their family planning efforts to reduce fertility.
Causes of High Fertility 
You can separate fertility rates into two types of determinants: first being the direct
that relates to the behavioral and biological aspects of fertility. And the second are
indirect factors such as socioeconomic (one's income, education, cultural, historical,
environmental, and politic-institutional factors
Marriage patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa have a number of features that are unique and
quite distinct from North America and Europe. Most marriages, particularly in traditional
societies, are universal and occur at an early age.
Cultural determinants of fertility
This may also be view as a reason to the problem of rapid population growth. The belief
systems, customs, traditions, and values of Sub-Saharan Africans have significant impact
on fertility levels. The African family structure is male dominated, and decisions about
reproduction and family size are usually deferred to the husband. This may tend to make
the women find it difficult to talk to their husbands about family planning. Since a high
premium is placed on children, African women aspire to elevate their status, comparing
with their husband's request to have more children. 
Mortality
Mortality levels in Sub-Saharan Africa have declined substantially over the years, thus
converging towards levels associated with more developed countries. Improvements in
health, sanitation, and nutrition standards; massive vaccination campaigns against
measles, small pox, and other diseases; and increased efforts on the part of World Health
Organization and the International Red Cross have all contributed to this downward
trend.
Even with the lowering of death rates, there are still slight regional variations in
mortality levels that reflect environmental, economic, and sociocultural factors. Death
rates may be prone to drought, areas with high incidence of AIDS and those areas that
have experienced social unrest, civil war, and political upheaval also may have
relatively high mortality rates.
Migration and Refugee Issues
Migration involves the movement from one administrative unit to another, resulting in a
change in permanent residence. Recent estimates show that Sub-Saharan Africa contains 35
million international migrants, almost half of the world's total. Another concern like
many other countries has been the brain drain of African intellectuals and students.
Another concern regarding international migration is the refugee crisis, which has taken
on added proportions recently. The most widely used definition is one which characterizes
refugees as anyone who,owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of
race, religion, nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail him\herself of the
protection of that country.
Agricultural Performance
Average per capita food production has declined in many countries, per capita calorie
consumption had stagnated at very low levels, and roughly 100 million people in
Sub-Saharan Africa are food insecure.. The average African consumes only about 87 percent
of the calories needed for a healthy and productive life. 
Women's Time, and Their Role in Rural Production and Household Maintenance Systems
Most women in Sub-Saharan Africa bear heavy responsibilities for food crop production,
weeding and harvesting on men's fields, post-harvest processing, fuel wood and water
provision, and household maintenance. But the burdens on rural women are increasing, as
population growth outpaces the evolution of agricultural technology and growing numbers
of men leave the farms for urban and industrial jobs. 
Many factors underlie the persistence of very high human fertility rates. The fundamental
problem is low demand for fewer children. Environmental degradation, agricultural
problems, food insecurity and poverty, and the heavy work burdens of woman all play a
part in this respect. High infant and child mortality rates are a major factor explaining
the persistent high demand for large number of children in Africa. Where girls are kept
our of school to help with domestic tasks, this negatively affects their fertility
preferences and their ability to make informed decisions about family planning once they
reach childbearing age. 
An Action Plan 
The appropriate policy response and action program to address these problems are not
easily brought into compatible focus. Many of the most immediately attractive remedies
have been tried and have failed. 
Reducing Fertility Rates
A key aspect will be to increase demand for fewer children. Educational efforts, directed
at both men and women, are needed to raise awareness of the benefits of fewer children.
Women's work loads need to be eased to reduce the need for child labour. Dynamic
agricultural development and improved food security will also reduce the demand for
children.
Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture
Farm productivity per unit area must be raised significantly to generate more output with
little increase in the area farmed. To minimize negative impacts on the environment, much
more emphasis is required on environmentally benign and sustainable technologies.
Numerous such agricultural techniques have been developed and successfully applied, often
through adaptation of traditional practices that have evolved in response to local
agro-ecological and socioeconomic condition. 
However, intensification with these technologies alone is unlikely to be sufficient in
most Sub-Saharan African countries to achieve agricultural growth rates of 4 percent per
year and more. Improved variety/fertilization/farm mechanization technologies will also
be necessary. Increased use of fertilizers will be especially important to raise yields
and maintain soil fertility. 
Intensive and resource-conserving agriculture must be made less risky and more
profitable. This requires appropriate marketing, price, tax and exchange rate policies as
well as investments in rural infrastructure, health and education facilities. Creating
parks, reserves and community-owned range land and protecting these against conversion
into crop land will be important to conserve natural resources and bio diversity. So will
reducing infrastructure development in forests and other fragile areas to discourage
settlement in these areas. Since this will limit the scope for further expansion of
cropped land and, potentially, the scope for agricultural production growth, there is a
trade-off between conservation and agricultural growth. Creating additional protection
areas will only be feasible and sustainable if agricultural production can be intensified
at the rate suggested here (i.e. to about a 3.5 percent annual increase in farm out put
per unit of land farmed). in this sense, conservation and agricultural intensification
are complementary. As African farmers have shown, land scarcity leads to agricultural
intensification -- if the necessary advice and inputs are available, intensification can
be made sustainable and the rate of intensification greatly accelerated. 
Infrastructure Development and Settlement Policy
The strong bias in urban infrastructure investments favoring the few major cities needs
to be abandoned. Adequate transport lines to product markets are major factors associated
with the intensification of farming -- even where population densities are comparatively
low. Rural roads and improved tracks navigable for animal-drawn vehicles are crucial.
Major efforts are also needed to promote the use of locally suitable and appropriate
intermediate transport technology, especially animal-drawn implements, and of improved
off-road transport. 
Infrastructure development also has a major impact on the productivity of rural labour
and on key determinants of fertility. Roads provide access to health facilities and
schools. Better educated and healthier farmers are more productive and more likely to be
innovators. Water supply and sanitation facilities have significant impact on health and
labour productivity. Rural water supply, sanitation, health and education facilities and
services are particularly important in terms of their impact on infant and child
mortality and on female education -- both critical determinants of fertility preferences.

Water
With the major exceptions of the humid regions of Central and coastal West Africa, almost
all of Sub-Saharan Africa will be facing water shortages or water scarcity early in the
next century. There is an urgent need for effective hydrological planning and for prudent
demand management. Water must be recognized as the critical and limiting resource it is.
it must be carefully allocated, and must be protected against pollution. Planning for
water use must be based on natural hydrological units such as river basins and integrated
with planning for land use and other activities that affect, and are affected by, water
development. Since water resources are frequently shared among countries, it is important
to cooperate closely in planning for long-term water sharing. 
Poverty
Twenty-one of the world's thirty poorest countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly half
the region's people live in absolute poverty - the equivalent of a dollar a day or less.
Positive per capita growth in the past four years has not been enough to prevent an
increase in the absolute number living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV/AIDS
By end of 1998, nearly 23 million adults and children were estimated to be living with
HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa - accounting for 2/3 of the world's infected persons. More
than 1.8 million Africans will die from AIDS this year. New infection rates are
staggering: in South Africa, 1,750 are infected by AIDS daily. Problems extend beyond the
health sector. HIV/AIDS has raised the cost of doing business, killing professionals,
schoolteachers and farmers, reducing incomes now and investments in the future. HIV/AIDS
is overloading social welfare systems. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 95% of the 13
million children worldwide who will be orphaned by AIDS by end of 2000.
Slowing Population Growth
At current rates of population growth, sub-Saharan Africa will grow to over one billion
people by 2020, despite declining birthrates and increasing number of deaths from AIDS.
Contraceptive prevalence rates have been rising for the last three decades, yet remain
under 10% in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The high rate of population growth intensifies
existing social, political, economic, and environmental pressures. Aids assists African
countries to reduce these pressures through family planning programs emphasizing
healthier, smaller families, and through support of girls education, a major determinant
of family size. 
Conclusion
As a result of the above information you can see that rapid population growth in
Sub-Saharan Africa at the present time is a moment of opportunity on the African
continent. Africa is making new headway: democracy and economic reform are revitalizing
the continent, and a number of countries are experiencing dynamic economic growth. With
greater political open-ness, African governments are increasingly seeking to address the
health and education needs of their people.
Despite these positive trends, sub-Saharan Africa faces a development challenge greater
than any
other region. Africa's progress has not reached enough people, and too much of the
continent is still plagued by political instability. Many African nations are struggling
to meet the health and education needs of populations expanding at about three percent a
year. In too many countries, rapid population growth continues to threaten the natural
resource base and future prospects for prosperity. The region's ability to slow current
high rates of population growth is thus key to achieving its full potential for
development. The international community has good reason to care about African
development. The continent is endowed with ample mineral and agricultural resources,
including the
greatest potential in the world for increases in farm productivity. Africa is also one of
the last untapped markets for goods and services; industrialized countries thus stand to
benefit by trading with a more prosperous Africa. Beyond economic self-interest, there
are strong humanitarian
reasons to support efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa, home to 11 percent of the
world's population.
In many respects, Africa in the late 1990s resembles the East Asian economies as they
began their
economic take-off three decades ago.
African governments need to emphasize three key strategies in their efforts to improve
individual well-being and slow population growth. The first priority should be to expand
reproductive health and family planning services to meet existing unmet needs. The
second, to expand educational and economic opportunities, especially for women, both to
improve the lives of individuals and to help encourage a desire for smaller families. The
third, to slow the momentum of future population growth through education and
reproductive health programs that help young people choose to delay childbearing.
Carrying out the comprehensive agenda described above will require
enormous effort by African governments. The task is large, yet attainable if these
governments increase their current low levels of commitment to reproductive health and
family planning programs. 
Governments and donors should be prepared to invest years of sustained effort to build
successful population programs. Over the long haul, there are bound to be setbacks and
difficulties. Currently, there is no reason to expect that either the fertility or
development transitions will occur
more quickly and with less external aid in sub-Saharan Africa than they did in other
places.
Yet the needs are pressing, and Africa must accelerate the development of population
programs and the current trend towards smaller families. This may be possible if African
countries are willing to learn as much as possible from the experiences of other regions,
while at the same time recognizing the continent's own special challenges, such as the
HIV/AIDS crisis.
Africa's relatively recent establishment of population policies and programs has given it
the chance
to learn from both the mistakes and achievements of other regions which have grappled
with the problem of rapid population growth. African countries, with help from the world
community, have the potential to build on these experiences and create their own success
story.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Aryeetey-Attoh, Samuel, Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa, Prentice Hall,
New Jersey,1997
Berg, Elliot Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, International Bank,
Washington, 1991
James E. Rosen, Shanti R. Conly, Africa's Population Challenge: Accelerating Progress in
Reproductive Health, Population Action International, Washington, 1998
Palmer, Ingrid, Gender and population in the adjustment of African economies: Planning
for change, International Labour Office, Geneva, 1991
STUDY SERIES #4
Thomas. M.F. Environment and Land Use in Africa, Methuen & Co Ltd.
London, 1990
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/findings/english/find28.htm
http://www.usaid.gov/country/afr/