CONTEMPORARY AFRICA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Fifty years ago, after the demise of colonialism, there was much hope that Africa would have faster growth. However instead of economic growth and increasing wealth across the continent, much of Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from relative economic stagnation, extensive civil strife, and generally poor development indicators.It is apparent that contemporary Africa is facing many challenges including conflicts, HIV and AIDS; health and sanitation; migration; lack of good governance, peace and security; unemployment, sluggish trade; food insecurity; adverse impact of climate change; high maternal and infant mortality rates: gender inequality and other related issues. Partly this phenomenon has been explained by the fact that the kind of development pursued /promoted in Africa in the past decades is not necessarily the kind of development we need.Therefore in view of this, Africa has to play a proactive role to deal with its multiple problems and address challenges.It is against this background that this course aims at helping students understand the current African development issues and Challenges. It focuses on and presents the contemporary African development issues, challenges and problems that range from social, economic, political and cultural issues.