Poverty in Africa - 550 Words

Poverty in Africa (Essay Sample) Content: Poverty in AfricaStudent NameUniversity NameCourse Name and NumberInstructor NameDate of SubmissionAfrica records the highest poverty rates in the world. It is estimated that 48.5% of Africans living in the Sub-Saharan region live in extreme poverty (United Nation Development programme, 1). UNDP further indicates that 60% of African youths are unemployed thus living in poverty conditions. The two statistics is a clear indicator of the high level of poverty among the African dwellers.Following the numbers shown above, most people believe that poverty is part of live in the African continent. Myths and stories have always been told in relation to the way of lives of African. Thus majority believe that the reason behind African poverty is due to illiteracy while others could argue that Africans are lazy.Different from such arguments, I believe it is not right to point fingers at the two as reason for poverty in Africa. Africans just like any other people in the world, sh ould enjoy a decent living. Such type of a living cannot be achieved through condemning them, rather than coming up with solutions to their current problems. As UN has indicated, the poverty levels are worrying calling on the need of the international community to get involved for a faster solution.Among the best methods of eradicating poverty, is job creation. Currently, many youths, men and women in the African continent are not employed. They usually really on farm produce for their daily meal as well as for their daily requirements. With the highest number of Africans living in the rural set ups agriculture forms the most reliable form of economic activity while the small percentage of people living in urban centers relying on informal employment as the key source of income.Lack of formal employment is a major cause of high poverty levels in Africa. With informal means of employment, Africans have no alternatives rather than work on poor working conditions of any kind of work th ey get. This does not only expose them to insecure working conditions but also subject them to a poor pay. The low income is the key cause of poverty. With little earnings, then many are not able to pay for better housing, feed their families or even afford other basic needs.International community should come in to help our brothers and sisters living in Africa. The help that Africa needs is not giving them money, but rather coming up with incentives with the objective of creating employment opportunities. Job creation in the continent will lead to a bigger working population, better earnings, and increased standards of living giving Africans a decent life.Job creation can be achieved through various means creation of industries and other capital investment in the continent (White, Howard, and Killick 19). With this labour intensive project, many people will be employed thus earning salaries and wages. Promotion of entrepreneurship skills should also be encouraged. Africans with l ittle savings, should be encouraged to start up ...