Download or read book Africa s Development in Historical Perspective written by Emmanuel Akyeampong and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-08-11 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why has Africa remained persistently poor over its recorded history? Has Africa always been poor? What has been the nature of Africa's poverty and how do we explain its origins? This volume takes a necessary interdisciplinary approach to these questions by bringing together perspectives from archaeology, linguistics, history, anthropology, political science, and economics. Several contributors note that Africa's development was at par with many areas of Europe in the first millennium of the Common Era. Why Africa fell behind is a key theme in this volume, with insights that should inform Africa's developmental strategies.

Download or read book Africa s Development Dynamics 2021 Digital Transformation for Quality Jobs written by African Union Commission and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons learned in the continent’s five regions – Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa – to develop policy recommendations and share good practices. Drawing on the most recent statistics, this analysis of development dynamics attempts to help African leaders reach the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local.

Download or read book The Ebola Epidemic in West Africa written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-12-30 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most recent Ebola epidemic that began in late 2013 alerted the entire world to the gaps in infectious disease emergency preparedness and response. The regional outbreak that progressed to a significant public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in a matter of months killed 11,310 and infected more than 28,616. While this outbreak bears some unique distinctions to past outbreaks, many characteristics remain the same and contributed to tragic loss of human life and unnecessary expenditure of capital: insufficient knowledge of the disease, its reservoirs, and its transmission; delayed prevention efforts and treatment; poor control of the disease in hospital settings; and inadequate community and international responses. Recognizing the opportunity to learn from the countless lessons of this epidemic, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop in March 2015 to discuss the challenges to successful outbreak responses at the scientific, clinical, and global health levels. Workshop participants explored the epidemic from multiple perspectives, identified important questions about Ebola that remained unanswered, and sought to apply this understanding to the broad challenges posed by Ebola and other emerging pathogens, to prevent the international community from being taken by surprise once again in the face of these threats. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Download or read book Technology and Innovation for Social Change written by Satyajit Majumdar and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-12-04 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tension exists between technologists and social thinkers because of the impact technology and innovation have on social values and norms, which is often viewed as damaging to the cultural fabric of a nation or society. Since the global business environment is the context in which implementation of technology and innovation takes place, it is widely accepted as the major reason for such conflicts. In this backdrop, this edited book integrates independent research from across the globe. It deals with the nature and significance of technology, innovation and social change as well as the relationships between them, and discusses the significance of social entrepreneurship from social innovation and technology perspectives. Research areas covered are related to the development and deployment of technology, innovation and knowledge in social change, capabilities of institutions, models, role of government and corporate social responsibility and community involvement. Multiple aspects of social change are discussed in the context of India, Mexico, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Nigeria and other African countries. But society does not silently accept technologically enforced changes; sometimes technology is seen as an enemy of inclusive growth and for many, economic development is an anti-thesis of social change. Selected case studies on sector-specific technologies, such as the use of genetically modified seeds in agriculture, which has impacted the market and society, are critically analyzed to develop insights into the adoption of technology and its impact. At the same time it examines policy related issues, without any bias in favor of, or against, a specific technology.

Download or read book The Green Belt Movement written by Wangari Maathai and published by Lantern Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wangari Maathai, founder of The Green Belt Movement, tells its story including the philosophy behind it, its challenges, and objectives.

Download or read book UNESCO science report written by UNESCO and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-09 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are fewer grounds today than in the past to deplore a North‑South divide in research and innovation. This is one of the key findings of the UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030. A large number of countries are now incorporating science, technology and innovation in their national development agenda, in order to make their economies less reliant on raw materials and more rooted in knowledge. Most research and development (R&D) is taking place in high-income countries, but innovation of some kind is now occurring across the full spectrum of income levels according to the first survey of manufacturing companies in 65 countries conducted by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and summarized in this report. For many lower-income countries, sustainable development has become an integral part of their national development plans for the next 10–20 years. Among higher-income countries, a firm commitment to sustainable development is often coupled with the desire to maintain competitiveness in global markets that are increasingly leaning towards ‘green’ technologies. The quest for clean energy and greater energy efficiency now figures among the research priorities of numerous countries. Written by more than 50 experts who are each covering the country or region from which they hail, the UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 provides more country-level information than ever before. The trends and developments in science, technology and innovation policy and governance between 2009 and mid-2015 described here provide essential baseline information on the concerns and priorities of countries that could orient the implementation and drive the assessment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the years to come.

Download or read book West African Studies Urbanisation Dynamics in West Africa 1950 2010 Africapolis I 2015 Update written by Moriconi-Ebrard François and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-18 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1950, there were only 152 urban agglomerations in West Africa. Since then, the number of agglomerations has increased to almost 2 000 town and cities which are home to 41% of the region’s total population.

Download or read book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa written by Walter Rodney and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A call to arms in the class struggle for racial equity”—the hugely influential work of political theory and history, now powerfully introduced by Angela Davis (Los Angeles Review of Books). This legendary classic on European colonialism in Africa stands alongside C.L.R. James’ Black Jacobins, Eric Williams’ Capitalism & Slavery, and W.E.B. Dubois’ Black Reconstruction. In his short life, the Guyanese intellectual Walter Rodney emerged as one of the leading thinkers and activists of the anticolonial revolution, leading movements in North America, South America, the African continent, and the Caribbean. In each locale, Rodney found himself a lightning rod for working class Black Power. His deportation catalyzed 20th century Jamaica's most significant rebellion, the 1968 Rodney riots, and his scholarship trained a generation how to think politics at an international scale. In 1980, shortly after founding of the Working People's Alliance in Guyana, the 38-year-old Rodney would be assassinated. In his magnum opus, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Rodney incisively argues that grasping "the great divergence" between the west and the rest can only be explained as the exploitation of the latter by the former. This meticulously researched analysis of the abiding repercussions of European colonialism on the continent of Africa has not only informed decades of scholarship and activism, it remains an indispensable study for grasping global inequality today.

Download or read book Africa s Turn written by Edward Miguel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-03-13 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Signs of hope in sub-Saharan Africa: modest but steady economic growth and the spread of democracy. By the end of the twentieth century, sub-Saharan Africa had experienced twenty-five years of economic and political disaster. While “economic miracles” in China and India raised hundreds of millions from extreme poverty, Africa seemed to have been overtaken by violent conflict and mass destitution, and ranked lowest in the world in just about every economic and social indicator. Working in Busia, a small Kenyan border town, economist Edward Miguel began to notice something different starting in 1997: modest but steady economic progress, with new construction projects, flower markets, shops, and ubiquitous cell phones. In Africa's Turn? Miguel tracks a decade of comparably hopeful economic trends throughout sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that we may be seeing a turnaround. He bases his hopes on a range of recent changes: democracy is finally taking root in many countries; China's successes have fueled large-scale investment in Africa; and rising commodity prices have helped as well. Miguel warns, though, that the growth is fragile. Violence and climate change could derail it quickly, and he argues for specific international assistance when drought and civil strife loom. Responding to Miguel, nine experts gauge his optimism. Some question the progress of democracy in Africa or are more skeptical about China's constructive impact, while others think that Miguel has underestimated the threats represented by climate change and population growth. But most agree that something new is happening, and that policy innovations in health, education, agriculture, and government accountability are the key to Africa's future. Contributors Olu Ajakaiye, Ken Banks, Robert Bates, Paul Collier, Rachel Glennerster, Rosamond Naylor, Smita Singh, David N. Weil, and Jeremy M. Weinstein

Download or read book West African Countries and Peoples British and Native written by James Africanus Beale Horton and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Education Social Progress and Marginalized Children in Sub Saharan Africa written by Obed Mfum-Mensah and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2017-05-04 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book employs sociohistorical, narrative, and discourse frameworks to discuss the sociopolitical complexities and ambiguities of educating marginalized groups in sub-Saharan Africa since western education was introduced in the region. It outlines the systemic and structural challenges faced by marginalized children in the education system that prevent them from fully participating in the education process. This book focuses on how the props underlying Christian missionary education, colonial education, and early postcolonial educational enterprise all served to marginalize certain groups, including women, some geographical regions and/or communities, such as Islamic communities and people with disabilities, from the colonial and postcolonial economic discourses. This historical background provides the springboard for discussions on the complexities and ambiguities of educating marginalized groups in some communities in sub-Saharan Africa in the contemporary times. This book also highlights the challenges of the recent policies of policy makers and the strategies and initiatives of civic societies, non-governmental organizations, and local communities to promote marginalized children’s participation in education. This book elucidates the varied ways certain groups and communities continue to interrogate the structural and systemic challenges that marginalize them educationally. It argues that the level of marginalized groups’ participation in education in sub-Saharan African in the 21st century will determine the progress the region will make in the Education for All (EFA) initiative and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Furthermore, it argues that increasing educational participation in marginalized communities requires implementation of educational programs that address marginalized groups’ structural social arrangements and socioeconomic contexts.

Download or read book Meteorology of Tropical West Africa written by Douglas J. Parker and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-04-24 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meteorology of tropical West Africa: the Forecasters’ Handbook presents the science and practice of weather forecasting for an important region of the tropics. Connecting basic theory with forecasting practice, the book provides a unique training volume for operational weather forecasters, and is also suitable for students of tropical meteorology. The West African region contains a number of archetypal climatic zones, meaning that the science of its weather and climate applies to many other tropical regions. West Africa also exhibits some of the world’s most remarkable weather systems, making it an inspiring region for students to investigate. The weather of West Africa affects human livelihoods on a daily basis, and can contribute to hardship, poverty and mortality. Therefore, the ability to understand and predict the weather has the potential to deliver significant benefits to both society and economies. The book includes comprehensive background material alongside documentation of weather forecasting methods. Many examples taken from observations of West African weather systems are included and online case-studies are referenced widely.

Download or read book Plants and People in the African Past written by Anna Maria Mercuri and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-07-31 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is an essential connection between humans and plants, cultures and environments, and this is especially evident looking at the long history of the African continent. This book, comprising current research in archaeobotany on Africa, elucidates human adaptation and innovation with respect to the exploitation of plant resources. In the long-term perspective climatic changes of the environment as well as human impact have posed constant challenges to the interaction between peoples and the plants growing in different countries and latitudes. This book provides an insight into/overview of the manifold routes people have taken in various parts Africa in order to make a decent living from the provisions of their environment by bringing together the analyses of macroscopic and microscopic plant remains with ethnographic, botanical, geographical and linguistic research. The numerous chapters cover almost all the continent countries, and were prepared by most of the scholars who study African archaeobotany, i.e. the complex and composite history of plant uses and environmental transformations during the Holocene.

Download or read book African History A Very Short Introduction written by John Parker and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2007-03-22 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intended for those interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history, this work looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented. It illustrates key themes in modern thinking about Africa's history with a range of historical examples.

Download or read book Democracy Good Governance and Development in Africa written by Mawere, Munyaradzi and published by Langaa RPCIG. This book was released on 2015-10-24 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.

Download or read book Regional Integration in West Africa written by Eswar Prasad and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

Download or read book A History of the African People written by Robert William July and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 768 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: