Better News on Africa Than You Thought

by Yemisrach Kifle · 2010-03-11 06:59:00 UTC
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As often as Sub-Saharan Africa makes headlines, it's rarely for good news. Reports of genocide, hunger, poverty and war generally dominate coverage of the continent.

Recently, however, news about the continent's growing economy has been making the rounds. IMF predictions show that economies in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow at an average of 4.5%. The continent seems to also be recovering from the global financial slow-down faster than expected. "Usually there's a long delay between the recovery [from] crisis in the rest of the world and the time when African countries catch up. This time it's not the case," IMF's managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told the Financial Times.

In other news, a study released in February by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) -- a private non-profit organization in Massachusetts -- found that Africa is actually doing a lot better than bleak headlines would suggest. The poverty levels in Sub-Saharan countries are dropping rapidly, and income inequalities are decreasing. Between 1995 and 2006, for example, the number of people who were living on less than $1 (inflation-adjusted) fell by 10%.

And this trend, the paper concludes, isn't confined to just a few countries either. "Poverty fell for both landlocked as well as coastal countries; for mineral-rich as well as mineral-poor countries; for countries with favorable or with unfavorable agriculture; for countries regardless of colonial origin; and for countries with below- or above-median slave exports per capita during the African slave trade," according to NBER. The organization also predicts that if the current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goal of reducing people who live on one dollar or less a day by half will be met -- and on time.

Back in October, Economy Watch declared 2010-2020 as the African Decade in its forcast of the fastest-growing economies for 2010. It predicts that large infrastructure upgrades, better governance and the rise of energy and commodity exports will thrust the continent forward.

In the face of such good news, some -- perhaps understandably -- remain skeptical. While I know the road ahead for Africa remains arduous, here's still hoping all this good news holds true.

Photo Credit: William Stapleton

Yemisrach Kifle was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She currently lives in Dalian, China and works as a freelance writer sometimes covering global poverty.
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