Malnutrition,Starving,Poverty

Pd.4 Group 2 Question:What is being done about poverty? Answer: There are various non-profit, and charity organizations that are collecting money and donating it the governments all around Africa to help reduce the poverty level on the continent. 

__History:__

Niger > Ghana
 * Under rule of France
 * Became independent from them in 1960
 * Single party rule and military rule since 1991
 * Democratic government in 1993
 * 1996-Led by Ibraham Bare (Negative Impact)
 * Tandja elected by military officers in December 1999, relected in 2004, 2009 spearheaded constitution to longate term
 * 2010 military coup depos Tandja
 * Minimal government lead to it being a poor country.
 * During the 1970s, the country's economy excelled because of uranium production but when uranium prices fell in the 1980s, its success ended.
 * Was first sub-Saharan colonial African country to gain independence
 * Under British rule until 1957
 * 1966 had first president, Kwame Nkrumah
 * Banned political parties in 1981 by Lt. Jerry Rawlings
 * Approved new constitution and had multi party politics in 1992
 * The Catholic Relief Services have been helping to bringing good education to children, providing fresh water and clean sanitation, increasing farm profits and production, and bringing peace to areas of conflict.

__Political Impact:__

Niger
 * Government criticized for doing too little too late to prevent the failed harvests which led to food shortages affected 3.5 million people.
 * Rejected calls for free distribution of food, subsided cost of staple foods.
 * 1974: Government's failure to deal with the severe food shortages led directly to coup.

Ghana
 * Throughout their history they changed their government many times, so to deal with an issue such as poverty wouldn't be as wise to address as much as the public displays of violence. This contributed to the need for a more militaristic government.
 * When Jerry Rawlings was in control, he didn't have a lot of control of his people, so the government changed to a republic after both of his times of power. However, he brought the example of having a substantial military.
 * Boycotts still exist to change this way of thinking about government to focus on money and economy.
 * The government has recently made decent education standards, hoping for their people to have the knowledge they need to start and run successful businesses or keep good, medium paying jobs that they can live on.

__Economic Impact:__

Niger
 * 63% of population below poverty line
 * Drought cycles, strong population growth, and desertification have lead to the bad economy

Ghana
 * 28.5% of population below poverty line
 * depend on international finance and technical assistance
 * 3.5% economic growth rate
 * majority of community are deprived of job opportunities
 * economy has grown an average of 4.5% over the past 20 years
 * Poverty rate has been cut in half 51% from 1991-1992 and 28.5% from 2005-2006
 * Poverty levels decreased 17% in urban areas and 24% in rural areas
 * Growth and poverty rates are the best of all sub-Saharan African countries over the past 15 years

__Social Impact:__

Niger
 * Impact on people/tribes/relations
 * Thousands of children die of hunger
 * 2005 Food Crisis affected millions and led to widespread child malnutrition.
 * Life Expectancy: 47 years old

Ghana
 * Average life expectancy is 59
 * Population is 22,931,299
 * Much discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS which discourages testing

__Future of the Issue:__

Niger
 * restructure output composition
 * keep the economy open
 * decrease monopolies
 * enhance the mobility of resources
 * reduce distortions that affect resource allocation
 * increase government effectiveness
 * improve public resource use and target the poor
 * build human capital and infrastructure
 * enhance rural and urban

Ghana
 * Poverty has caused government to put more money into education to get out of poverty
 * Invitations for investor is one of the steps to reduce poverty
 * Get groups of people together that can say what needs to be done and what needs to be changed
 * Take control of their own natural resources
 * Invest in new businesses

__Works Cited:__

===="BBC News - Profile: Mamadou Tandja." // BBC News - Home //. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. . ==== ====Isaacs, By Dan. "BBC NEWS | Africa | Analysis: Behind Nigeria's Violence." // BBC News - Home //. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. . ====

===="CIA - The World Factbook." Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. . ====

===="CIA - The World Factbook." Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. . ==== "Ghana." // Catholic Relief Services //. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. .

==== "Factors that effect Poverty and Malnutrition in Niger." //Bukisa - Share your Knowledge//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. . ====

===="GIC Logout." // GaleNet //. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. . ====

====Hansen), By Thorkild. "Ghana History Timeline - Historic Overview of Ghana (Gold Coast), Africa." // Crawfurd Homepage - Jacob Crawfurd //. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://crawfurd.dk/africa/ghana_timeline.htm>. ====

"Niger poverty - Factbites." //Factbites: Where results make sense//. Factbites, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.factbites.com/search.php?kp=niger+poverty>.

"Niger Poverty and Wealth, Information about Poverty and Wealth in Niger." Encyclopedia of the Nations - Information about Countries of the World, United Nations, and World Leaders. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Niger-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html>.