The People in Africa

Africa encompasses 54 countries and 900 million people. 30,365,000 km2 of land, with a wide latitudinal distribution influencing landscapes throughout. From equatorial rainforests and coastal environments to savanna grasslands and deserts (Dickson et al., 2021). The continent’s freshwater resources include Lake Turkana and Lake Malawi, respectively the world’s largest desert lake and the richest freshwater fish fauna in the world (UNEP, 2021). The Congo Basin Forest is extremely valuable for its capacity to store 60 billion metric tons of carbon (Megevand and Mosnier, 2013). Some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores and gems and precious metals are found in Africa (Dickson et al., 2021) So, how is it even possible to consider that only one problem troubles all of Africa? 'People in Africa' are not deprived of resources, ‘People in Africa' are not starved, 'People in Africa' are not water scarce.

                           Countries that would fit within the area of Africa (Desjardins, 2020)

Wainaina (2019) narrates the most accurate descriptions given for Africa in art, information media or academic papers. He wonderfully demonstrates the extent of the wrongful (and quite insulting) representations shared of the country. It is almost embarrassing to have to admit how accurate his words are. I find it especially worrying to consider the quantity of people that have no other knowledge on the continent but that shared by oblivious sources. 

One of the first case studies I visited on this subject, was based on the video 'Africa for Norway' by the Norwegian Students' and Academics' Assistance Fund (SAIH) as part of  the campaign RADI-AID . This was in fact a satirical movement, merely deigned to raise awareness of the extent to which the 'white saviour' complex has taken over our perceptions. During the length of the campaign, a series of additional satirical videos were filmed, all challenging the depiction of our ‘charitable’ causes. Awards were annually granted to the best and worst fundraising video advertisements released. Remarkably, this was not only done on an experimental basis, the project also took note of studies that showed people are more generous when they see a charity’s caricature rather than a human being (Hallett, 2015). As opposed to what we have been made believe, Africa is also capable of assisting other regions in supplying provisions for basic human needs.

Having a closer look, we may find an array of papers written by African scholars, discoveries accomplished by African research institutions or studies directed by African organisations. However, we choose to focus on the topics which picture them as sufferers (Evans, 2013). As I started to research the theme for this blog, the first suggestion which appeared on my internet browser was "food in Africa -lack". An array of articles focussing on the food security of the continent emerged. Allow me to clarify that this is even slightly similar to the results under the same search changing the continent to Europe. Something must have worked the algorithms to show us what we like to see.

Undoubtedly, hunger is a pressing issue in many countries. As of 2003, Africa was the continent receiving most food aid (Clover, 2003). 282 million people in Africa are currently undernourished (FAO, 2021). Specifically the sub-Saharan region, hosts the majority of the hotspots for Hidden Hunger, defined as deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals (Muthayya, 2013). The statistics for malnourished children have been rising and ultimately aggravated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter has triggered acute malnutrition reported in 19 African countries (UNICEF, 2020). Aiming for an improvement of conditions, the UN Sustainable Development Goals persist in their attempts to ‘end hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for all' (UN, n/d). However, existing water supplies in certain communities worsen the conditions, preventing access to food.                                                                                                                                                  

Amartya Sen (1981) already demonstrated how both human and physical factors interact to produce hunger. The main driver of hunger is not a deficit in food production either (Staatz et al., 1990). As it turns out, food, just like water, hide the roots of their problems in distribution and not in quantity. Water and food are so tightly linked, both are needed to study issues such as famines, diseases or even political disputes. Problems related to access, availability and affordability may uncover the dilemmas (Clover, 2003). Nevertheless, it is important to remember the individuality of each case study and to stay away from stereotypes blurring our perspectives as we enter the African environment.