Moreover, Africa is home to 8% of the world’s oil reserves, 7% of its natural gas, 18% of its gold, 53% of its diamonds, and 75% of its platinum. Africa also contains 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, making it the region best positioned to feed a burgeoning global population, expected by the United Nations to reach 11 billion by the end of this century. The continent is so vast that China, India, the contiguous United States, Japan, and most of Europe could all fit within its borders. To be sure, economic theory suggests that Africa should be growing rapidly. The world needs to engage and help solve Africa’s problems, which, sooner rather than later, will become global problems. Rather than capitalizing on opportunities, international engagement is increasingly focused on mitigating risks.īut mitigation is not enough. Once a repository of progressive aspiration, Africa has become the source of some of the greatest threats to the global economic order. Over the years, false starts on the continent have led to cynicism and despair. Ten years ago, in my book Dead Aid, I highlighted how a narrative backed by international aid policy cemented Africa’s status as the world’s problem child, rather than one destined for greatness. NEW YORK – If the world never had to hear about Africa again, would anyone care? Setting aside Africa’s cultural contributions, I suspect that for many people the honest answer is “no.” Hun sammenligner denne mangelen på engasjement med situasjonen etter første verdenskrig, hvor korrupsjon, politisk ustabilitet og ekstremisme i Tyskland førte til en ny krig.

Et hovedpoeng i boka var at bistanden hadde sementert Afrikas rolle som verdens problembarn, i stedet for å hjelpe kontinentet til å utnytte sine muligheter.ĭambisa Moyo mener at Afrikas problemer ikke lenger vekker interesse og at omverdenen ikke behandler verdensdelen som en «voksen». Den var et kraftig oppgjør med internasjonal bistand til Afrika. – Afrika representerer allerede en direkte trussel mot global stabilitet og denne trusselen vil bli forsterket av klimaforandringer, skriver hun.ĭet er ti år siden Dambisa Moyo skrev sin kjente bok «Dead Aid». Hun peker på pandemier, terrorisme og masse-migrasjon med utgangspunkt i Afrika.

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