A Continent in Crisis

  • Seventy percent of the world's poorest nations are in Africa.A crowd of refugees waiting for food.

 

  • The population of Africa's poorest people is growing too rapidly for governments to support their needs. In many of Africa's least developed nations, women average more than six children.
  • AIDS has become a pandemic throughout Central and West Africa. More than 21 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with the AIDS virus. This is more than twice the number of the rest of the world combined. The death rate among adults under sixty has risen more than fifty percent and has tripled in Zimbabwe. It is estimated that one of every five Zimbabweans have the virus. · African nations owe more substantial amounts of money to nations around the world, and are unable to pay what they owe.
  • Ethnic rivalries and civil wars have forced millions of Africans to become refugees. A refugee is a person who has had to flee their home for safety.
  • Famine and drought have plagued many of the nations of Africa. World organizations have attempted to help, but civil war and ethnic rivalries often keep food from reaching people who need it.

To cite this page:
Dowling, Mike, "The Electronic Passport Homework a Continent in Crisis," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/611-crisis.html; Internet; updated Saturday, June 17, 2006 .

©2008, Mike Dowling. All rights reserved.