Issues related to countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

 In the last few years, the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa have been in the news because of humanitarian problems.

According to the World Bank (live.worldbank.org/en/), more than half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of being left behind without electricity by 2030, with nearly 400 million living in countries subject to fragility, conflict, and violence. Africa is where the energy access battle will be won or lost. Without access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy, the region will not reach its development aspirations or achieve an economic transformation that can lift millions out of poverty. In this regard, I am presenting a few lines about the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Together with partners, the World Bank Group has already begun efforts to deploy innovative financial and technical solutions essential for accelerating electrification rates that outpace population growth. I hope the World Bank will be successful in its endeavours.

 Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the African continent south of the Sahara Desert. It consists of the overwhelming majority of Africa’s landmass. It also includes most of the countries and people of the continent. It has many geographic features, including the Sahel region, savannahs, arid lowland terrain, and tropical rainforests. It also includes the longest rivers and largest lakes on the continent. According to the United Nations Geoscheme, Sub-Saharan Africa is divided into Four subregions: West Africa, Middle Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa (worldatlas.com/regions/sub-saharan-africa).

 West Africa is comprised of 16 countries. The northern portion of the subregion includes the Sahel region, which is the semi-arid strip of land that separates the Sahara Desert in the north from the savannahs to the south. Some West African countries, including Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, are home to tropical rainforests. West Africa is also the subregion in which the Niger River, the third longest river in Africa, flows. It begins in Sierra Leone, flowing through the countries of Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, all the way south to the Nigerian region of the Niger Delta, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Middle Africa is comprised of the central part of the African continent. The subregion consists of 9 countries, of which the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest, and the island country of Sao Tome and Principe is the smallest. Middle Africa has the largest tropical rainforest area on the continent. East Africa consists of 18 countries. The mountainous Horn of Africa, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, is the northernmost part of the subregion. Southern Africa is the smallest of the Sub-Saharan African subregions. It comprises five countries, with South Africa being the largest and Eswatini being the smallest.

According to the World Economic Forum on Africa, there are five major problems in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are - a)Unemployment and underemployment, b)Underinvestment in infrastructure, c) Fiscal crises (Debt crises), d)Political change, "Failure of national governance," and e) Climate change.

A few years ago, as a resource person, I visited some countries in Africa and observed that the availability of safe water was a serious issue, unemployment was high, and industrial development in many countries was at a low ebb. But the people of Africa like and respect Indians, as many Indians work in different teaching jobs. Indian Hindi songs and movies are popular in many countries. The people like Indian goods than Chinese goods. I suggest our Indian Government should take the initiative to enhance exports to African countries wherever feasible. 

Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad