The eight Millennium Development Goals proposed by the UN during the Millennium General Assembly of 2000 will not be reached in Africa by 2015 if international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund continue to impose unethical and punishing economic policies through the Structural Adjustment Program (SAPs) on the poor and undeveloped countries of Africa and if the wealthy old core countries continue to break promises and hesitate to donate enough financial aid to Africa to help it recover from the destructive effects of the SAPs and the AIDS pandemic, and to also ensure gender equality and rights of women in Africa.
The Structural Adjustment Programs
The impact of the Structural Adjustment Programs imposed by International Financial Intuitions (IFIs) such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the developing countries of Africa has led to the destruction of Africa’s social sectors and has handicapped Africa in its fight with poverty, the AIDS pandemic, and keeping children in school.
The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) are economic policies imposed on countries that borrow loans from the World Bank (referred to as “the Bank”) and the International Monetary Fund (referred to as “the Fund” or IMF). Originating from the right-wing neo-liberalism ideology of the Bank and the Fund (which are the International Financial Institutions or “IFIs”), the SAPs were created to establish a free market economic system in the borrowing (developing) countries, which lead to privatization within those countries. The Bank and the Fund tell the critics that the SAPs help ensure that the money lent will be spent in accordance with the overall goals of the loan and help in re...
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... it needs (four thousand instead of the needed twelve thousand) and nearly ten percent of the doctors (three hundred instead of the needed three thousand) for a population of over fourteen million. Malawi is the perfect example for a show of how destructive the Structural Adjustment Programs can be for a developing country and how much power it can give to the IFIs that they (an outer entity) can overrule the demands of a sovereign government and can thus have far greater influence over a country’s economy and development than the country’s government itself.
The HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Struggle of the Women
To help the women in Africa in their struggle with the problems caused by the AIDS pandemic, we must first help the women have a voice and gender equality in the developed countries and the organizations of which these developed countries are a part of.
...g their academic theories accessible to common people through grassroots campaigns and political action. Practically, Africana womanism is still vastly underdeveloped and leaves much to be desires outside of academia.
In chapter 8 of Global Issues, Local Arguments, June Johnson exposes the concept that women are being used as a tactic and war as well as being sexually abused. In “Defending Human Rights: Human Trafficking, Forced Child Labor, and Rape as a Weapon of War, (384-439)”developing countries women are being treated unfairly as well having little say in the government leading to a delay in fixing the issue. Johnson also includes “Ten Radical Acts for Congo the New Year (434-41).” These issues were caused by the end of slavery and thus leading to people needing a new source of workers. The effects of the Ill treatment consist of children and women dying. Many stake holders to fixing the problem is to involve the women in the government. Unless stakeholders
19).This has led to Sub-Saharan Africa becoming dependant on the Global North to purchase their primary produce (Galbraith 2002, p. 25 cited in Gamage 2015, p. 9). This is problematic given that Africa also faces competition from Asia and Latin America in these industries which forces African farmers to further lower their costs which could include lowering wages for their workers. Employing such measures has led to negative rates of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in 1975, regional per capital GNP stood at 17.6% of the world average and this had dropped to 10.5% in 1999 (Ferguson 2006, p. 9). Therefore even the core aim of neoliberalism which is achieving economic growth has not been achieved. It has been suggested that there has been economic growth since then but even if Sub-Saharan Africa is growing as a region, lowering wages means that the poorest will not receive any benefit from a better economy.Therefore, if neoliberalism is considered a political tool used to restore the wealth of the bourgeoisie then it inherently cannot be a viable tool
In the developing world women are the most influential to change. Historically women have been the catalyst for change, they are the most influential because they hold the most respect in their communities. Women are able to invoke the most change because historically they are held at such a high esteem in their communities, this can be seen most obviously in African communities. Women’s desire and determination has enabled them to make the most change in their communities. The woman of Liberia, are the most recognized and praised for their part in the removal of their Dictator Charles Taylor. Their attempt and success of the removal of Charles Taylor is documented in the documentary “Pray The Devil Back to Hell”. Their actions in this movement
Living in the dawn of the 21st century, the idea of economic development permeates third world politics. Perhaps no single issue has raised so much hope, or so much scepticism, as the idea of development. Historically, attempts at economic development have resulted in varying degrees of success and failure. Nowhere has this been more apparent as in Africa. By the 20th century, Africa began to play an increasingly important role in the European economy. In the 1920's, Europe promoted Laissez-Faire policies in Africa, but gradually shifted towards protectionism and Neo-Mercantilism in the 1930's, and finally to disengagement in the 1950's. The purpose of this essay is to chronicle these changes in European perceptions of Africa's role in the global economy, and explain that although the outcome of these policy-changes eventually led to the end of colonial rule, the political, social, and economic effects of these policies made it impossible for the Africans to enjoy true independence.
Haiti has to fix its economic crises and destruction caused by both the earthquake and mismanagement of its resources. It also has to educate its people about some of the most prevalent diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The two NGO non-profit organizations Sove Lavi and Fanm Tet Ansanm struggle to reach out to women, especially through training programs to help stop the contraction and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Violence against women is a common occurrence; Fanm Tet Ansam provides medical care for women, distribution of condoms and HIV/AIDS testing. This organization use different measures to help women understand the dangers of sexual transmitted diseases, by enforcing abstinence, birth controls and other prevention methods {p4}. However, the book d...
To understand the efforts being made to help South Africa control this pandemic, an understanding of what the country is facing is essential. "The virus is like a snake," said Nomawethu Ngalimawe, a woman from a township outside of Cape Town, "It is killing everyone - mothers and children - and it moves in the dark and in secret" (Kapp, p1202, 2004). Ngalimawe took in her sister's orphan after she and her husband died from the circumstances of AIDS. Not long ago, Ngalimawe discovered that she also has the disease. Although her story is tragic, it is, unfortunately, a reality for many who live in South Africa at this time, especially women. The disease, in fact, is affecting women more and more. In Africa, "women now make up 60 percent of people living with HIV" (www.worldbank.org). This poses a serious threat to the development of the country "given that women are the main caregivers and the source of household labor, their illness means the collapse of family care and household income" (www.worldbank.org).
Hafkin, Nancy. Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change (1976). California: Stanford University Press, 1976.
Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) were neoliberal policies that were supported by the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for implementation in developing countries. The policy consequences are still a controversial issue and the mere mention of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) can provoke heated debate. The effects of Structural Adjustment Programs are far and wide and the debates about its impacts still stand the test of time. While Structural Adjustment Program(SAPs) was regarded as a success story in some countries by analysts for mainly its regulatory role in public service reform (Jayarayah Cral, Barson William 1995) and that SAP was working ,but improper evaluation distorted its reality (P. Thandika Mkandawire, Charles Chukwuma Soludo 2003). It’s also widely criticized by other critics for its adverse effects on for instance agriculture;
Yao, J., Murray, A.T. and Agadjanian, V., 2013. A geographical perspective on access to sexual and reproductive health care for women in rural Africa. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 96, 60
...tries. These ideas were discussed in lecture on February 16th, 2011, as well as explored in Manfred B. Steger's, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, and I.B. Logan and Kidane Mengisteab's article, "IMF – World Bank Adjustment and Structural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa." Instead of globalization as a positive system for SSA, it did the opposite, and made the region stagnant in economic terms. It was about expanding relationships among countries, but adjustments were creating barriers that prevented SSA from economic communications with other countries. Therefore, it contributed to colonialism after World War II; colonial powers were able to indirectly control what SSA could do, and whom they were able to contact. The World Bank as a financial institution affected SSA's economic industry, and was partly responsible for the control colonial powers had.
These tragic circumstances could have been partly caused by the massive economic dislocation caused by the slave trade and colonization of the 19th and 20th century (Hopkins 13). Colonial powers representing outside interest setup “extractive institutions” across Africa. These “Extractive Institutions” refer to those entities that exist for the sole purpose of pull resources out of a country. Now that many of the colonialist powers have left, these “European-style institutions” still exist well into the turn of the century.
Janet Wash. “Women’s Property Rights Violations and HIV/AIDS in Africa.” Peace Review April-September: Page 190, 192, 193
...m having an authoritarian leader even if he is trying to help the country grow. Also, the authors don’t believe in foreign aid and they explain that usually only 10% actually reaches the helpless. However, even if only 1% of the intended aid was going to the actual recipients, than that would still be an accomplishment over nothing.
This paper is to research a project of the World Bank or the IMF that created problems for the