Hans Rosling, a professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, focuses on dispelling common myths about the so-called developing world, which he points out is no longer worlds away from the West. In fact, most of the Third World is on the same trajectory toward health and prosperity, and many countries are moving twice as fast as the West did.

The statistic of the world has not been made properly available, because of that we still have the old mindset of developing and industrialized countries, which is wrong. According to Hans, Africa has done a great job and it has done better beyond our thinking.

And there are some wrong ideas. Many developed countries say now the problem is that the emerging economies are emitting too much carbon dioxide. The minister of the Environment of India said, “Well, you are the one who caused the problem.” The OECD countries, the highest income countries, were the ones who caused the climate change. So we need to have the right opinion about emerging economies and developed countries.

We can get out of poverty. Rosling spent 20 years researching African farmers who were on the verge of famine. “When you are in poverty, everything is about survival, it is about having food.” To get out of poverty, they need technology. “We hate this mortar to stand hours and hours,; get us a mill so that we can mill our flour then we will be able to pay for ourselves”.

Technology will bring us out of poverty. But there is a need for market to get away from poverty. His 20 years’ experience in Africa has convinced him that “the seemingly impossible is possible”. Africa is not done badly. In 50 years they have progressed from a pre-medieval situation. Africa has a bright future. Even though we are facing many obstacles, “seeing the impossible is possible” if we work together. Then we can make a great Africa.

– Caiqing Jin(Kelly)

Source: TedTalk