Many African countries faced problems after independence from European rule in the 1980s. Key issues included disease, poverty, drought, poor education, civil wars, ethnic conflicts, and genocide. Diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and famine have had devastating impacts and remain major problems today. Civil wars erupted in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Rwanda due to ethnic tensions. Overall, independence brought freedom but also new hardships as countries struggled with health, economic, and political stability challenges.

1. •Problems after Independence
•By 1980 most of Africa was free from European rule.
•However, many of the newly independent countries
are facing many problems.

2. Key Vocabulary
Civil War: A war between groups or regions of the same country in order to gain political
power.
 Genocide: systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political,
or ethnic group.
 HIV/AIDS: human immunodeficiency virus- virus that causes AIDS
 AIDS-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a disease of the immune system caused
by HIV which makes the infected person vulnerable to other diseases and which can
result in death.
 Malaria-a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes.
 Famine- widespread food shortage that causes malnutrition and starvation.
 Refugees-people who flee a country, often to escape war or persecution.
 Epidemic diseases-diseases which spread quickly and become widely prevalent
throughout a given region.

3. Problems in
21st
Century
Africa
Disease
Poverty
Drought
Poor Education
Civil War
Ethnic Conflict
Genocide
Famine

5. Independence
Beginning in the 1950’s, Independence from European
Powers began its move over the countries of Africa
and its people.

7. Ghana/Gold Coast
The first African nation to achieve independence from the
United Kingdom in 1957.
The name change to Ghana from the Gold Coast was
chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of
Ghana that once extended throughout much of western
Africa.
Kwame Nkrumah, the founder and first president of the
modern Ghanaian state, was not only an African anti-
colonial leader but also one with a dream of a united
Africa which would not drift into neo-colonialism. He was
the first African head of state to espouse Pan-Africanism.

9. Kenya
Since independence in 1963 Kenya has faced many
hardships.
In 1963 Jomo Kenyatta became president. Kenyatta
opposed anyone who disagreed with him.
Jomo Kenyatta ruled until his death in 1978.
Kenyatta formed the (KANU) Kenya African National
Union which has dominated the political arena.
After Kenyatta’s death, Daniel arap Moi became
president.

10. Kenya continued…..
Daniel arap Moi has also opposed anyone who threatens his
position.
In 1990 refused to allow opposition parties to develop, pro-
democracy protestors were imprisoned and over 100 people were
killed.
In 1991 international organizations imposed sanctions on Kenya
until political and economic reforms where put in place.
In 1992 multiparty elections were held but the many outside
organizations accused the KANU and Moi of rigging the elections.
In 2007 Kenya erupted into violent protests when the president
won re-election in an election suspected of fraud.
Presently Kenya is more stable today than it has been in decades
since independence.

12. Nigeria
Since independence in 1960 from Great Britain Nigeria has
struggled economically and politically.
Parties favoring capitalism and socialism consistently fight with
one another. What is the difference?
Since so many people are associated with different tribal and
religious groups, ethnic conflict has become common place in
the country. What is an ethnic conflict?
Igbo and Yoruba are often at war with each other.
Violence and bloodshed has also come with the turmoil.
Main conflicts are between northerners who were Islamic and
southerners who are not Islamic.
Struggles for power resulted in many military coups.
Many military type of governments have ruled Nigeria since its
independence.

13. Nigeria continued….
In 1966 military took over Nigeria.
Military ruled until 1993, until elections were held.
However, military considered elections null and void.
Nigeria remained under military rule until 1999.
Today, Nigeria has democratically elected president.
However, many contend that the elections are a
fraud.
Political instability, religious competition, ethnic
differences and the need to become more modern
continue to plague Nigeria.

15. Democratic Republic of Congo
(Zaire)
Independence from Belgium brought a brief period of
hope.
However, hope was quickly snatched from the people of
the DRC.
Soon after independence, Civil War erupts in Zaire. What
is a civil war
In 1994 Zaire’s neighbor Rwanda was entrenched into a
bloody 3 month civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi.
That left nearly 1 million dead, 800,000 Tutsi.
Refugees from Rwanda fled to Zaire(DRC).
In 1996, civil war began in DRC (Zaire) after violence
spilled over from its neighbor (Rwanda).
Rwanda has yet to recover from the civil war in 1994.

16. DRC continued….
DRC also faced similar challenges to its neighbor
Rwanda.
Mobutu’s regime was brutal and responsible for much
of the ethnic tension in the DRC.
In 1997 rebels tried to overthrow Mobutu regime.
Ethnic tensions led to another civil war.
In 2002, the Pretoria Accord was signed which
brought an end to the war and established a new
government.
Free elections were held in 2006 the first since
independence.

18. Sudan
Sudan is the largest country in Africa and has been in the center
of much conflict.
In 2003 Civil War erupted in the Darfur region of Sudan.
This has since been called the Darfur Crisis
Fighting between the Arab Muslims who are allied with the
Sudanese government and the non-Arabs fighting against them.
Sudanese government claims to have little control of the
Janjaweed (Arabs).
International community has condemned the government and
the Janjaweed.
Hard to determine the number of deaths since the beginning of
the war. At least 200,000 have died, and 2 million people have
fled the country for their safety. What would we call these
people?

20. South Africa
 Afrikaners & Boers Clash (Boer War)
Afrikaners establish apartheid
Nelson Mandela and African National Congress
Nelson Mandela is imprisoned for 27 years for due to
his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement.
F.W.de Klerk releases Mandela
Mandela elected first black president.

22. Issues facing Africa Today
Independence brought freedom but it also ushered in
a new era of hardships.
One of the biggest issues facing Africa today is
famine. What is famine?
Large portions of Africa are dealing with droughts
that cause mass starvation.
The population of Africa grows at a faster rate than
many countries can industrialize, therefore leaving
many countries unable to feed all of their people.
In Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Sudan starvation is
common place.

23. Famine

24. Disease
HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death in Africa.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
No known cure for the disease, the rate of infection is due
largely to poverty and poor education.
Better education on the disease and how it spreads would help
reduce the number of new cases.
Malaria is a tropical disease spreading throughout the region
carried by mosquitoes.
Each year more than 1 million die from this disease. Children in
Sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk.
For instance malaria is the leading cause of death in children
under five in Uganda.
Insecticides and mosquito nets can drastically lower the
number of infections.

25. Malaria
Endemic: belonging exclusively
or confined to a particular place.
Endemic Malaria

26. HIV/AIDS
 Every day in Africa:
 - HIV/AIDS kills 6,300 people
- 8,500 people are infected with the HIV virus
- 1,400 newborn babies are infected during childbirth or by their mothers'
milk.
- 25 million people in Africa have HIV – this is 70% of global infections.
Almost 2 million of African cases are children under the age of 15.
- Currently more than 12 million children in Africa have lost at least one
parent to HIV/AIDS; that number is expected to reach 18 million by 2010.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently 4.1 million people with AIDS who
are in immediate need of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). At the end
of last year, only an estimated 50,000 of these people were able to take these
drugs.
- AIDS experts estimate that it will cost more than $10.5 billion a year to fight
AIDS globally - that price tag will escalate to more than $15 billion a year by
2007. Wealthy countries currently spend less than $4 billion on global AIDS.
- The main ways AIDS is transmitted are unsafe injections, transmission from
mother to child at birth or through breastfeeding, and transfusion of
contaminated blood or blood products, etc…

27. HIV/AIDS
AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

28. •The Literacy rate in Africa is 50%. Meaning that half of the
population cannot read or write.
•Sudan and Egypt both have a literacy rate of 51%.
•South Africa, the most developed has an 83% literacy rate.