In 2006 South African President Thabo Mbeki presented the Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture at the University of Witwatersrand. Aware Mandela’s health was declining, Mbeki spoke of Mandela’s legacy, and the world that he will leave behind. South African President Mbeki, who spoke of “a good, a moral, a humane and a caring South Africa,” headed […]
The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an organization that seeks to give a helping hand to marginalized groups in Africa. The foundation grew out of the African Development Foundation Act of 1980, an initiative that identifies active community participation in Africa as key to developing a better social and economic system. The foundation […]
In a country where just 20 years ago, genocide claimed nearly one million lives, the Rwandan government has revamped HIV treatment for the poor by reforming the standards of successful care. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are now over 7.5 million people receiving antiretroviral therapy, 150 times as many as a decade ago. Medications have become […]
One in six girls in the developing world will not complete an education past the sixth grade. Add this sobering statistic to shocking numbers which illustrate that the entire continent of Africa has less than a 60% literacy rate, and one can see just how many challenges in completing an education the youth of the […]
Take a look at the shirt you’re wearing. Odds are it’s better traveled than you are. National Public Radio’s (NPR) Planet Money recently published a multimedia series on the making of a T-shirt and its extraordinary journey through the world economy. Believe it or not, your shirt and others like it are a wonder of […]
In 2009, China surpassed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner. Its investments on the African continent have seen astronomical growth in a relatively short period of time — going from $10 billion in 2000 to $200 billion in 2013. Because of this trading relationship, Africa has experienced an explosion of infrastructure projects and […]
Over the last several years, Israel has enjoyed economic growth and low unemployment. Unfortunately, that is not all good news. A report recently released by Israel’s National Insurance Institute and the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that over 1.7 million people, or 23.5 percent of the population, live below the poverty line. Of the 1.7 million […]
Look past the tag on your cute cotton underwear – it says a lot more than, “Made with 20 percent organic fibers from Burkina Faso.” Look closer and you will see a young girl drenched in sweat, picking cotton for hours on end, often while being whipped in sweltering heat that often breaks 100 degrees […]
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as former Finance Minister of Nigeria and as a managing director of the World Bank, is no stranger to managing the correct use of funds. Okonjo-Iweala combatted corruption in her home country of Nigeria by establishing economic reforms and facilitating government transparency. As a consequence, Nigeria became alluring to foreign investors. According to […]
In 2011, the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) started an initiative called the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA). Through the IPA, the AIF awards and encourages innovation and African ingenuity, with the hopes of accelerating economic growth on the continent. AIF focuses on advancements in business, economy, agriculture, and technology. The award’s mission is to: Mobilize […]
