Africa's Crisis: Contributing Factors and Consequences

The strife in Africa continues to be widespread and problematic. The nature of the problem seems to be a paradox because of the constant migration that is forced. Refugees have little choice but to survive at all cost. This also exacerbates conditions that already affect this region, such as weather conditions, poverty and global disinterest. It ultimately deters sustainable living, the ultimate independent living goal. Reasons why one would have to become a refugee include civil wars and genocide. Sometimes the repatriation or return of the refugees to their home country causes conflicts to arise again.

Author Richard Hausmann contends that problems in Africa are because it isn't foremost in a global market for its strategic location in the globe. He states:

In 1995, tropical countries had an average income equivalent to roughly one third of the income of the temperate-zone countries. Of the 24 countries classified as industrial, not one lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, except for the northern part Australia and most of the Hawaiian Islands, among the richest 30 economies in the world, only Brunei, Hong Kong, and Singapore are in tropical zones, and their geographical locations leave them ideally suited for growth through trade. Tropical nations tend to have annual rates of economic growth that are between one half and a full percentage point lower than the temperate countries (46).