AIDS, Health, Poverty, and Human Rights

AIDS, Health, Poverty,
and Human Rights

Overview

The main health challenges in Africa
The extent and impact of AIDS in Africa
The recurring problems with famine in

Africa
The main environmental issues facing

Africa
Human rights issues in Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Click any link below to go directly to polling that question.

1. Creature that grows/feeds off 3. Global disease, affecting high

another organism without numbers of people worldwide

contributing to the well-being 4. Sudden and rapid spread of a

of the host disease

2. Situation where one trouble 5. Symbol of disgrace

leads to another that 6. Drastic, wide-ranging food

aggravates the original problem shortage

Click here to return to this index.

Click any link below to go directly to polling that question.

7. Owned partly or wholly by the government
8. Number and variety of plant and animal species of a place
9. The removal of trees
10. Process whereby land becomes desert
11. A creature's natural home

Click here to return to this index.

Were Rwanda’s Gacaca courts a good way
to pursue justice and reconciliation after
the genocide there?

Why or why not?

Note to Instructors:

Click the Show/Hide Response Display Button

The Main Health Challenges

Malaria in Africa

A mosquito-borne
disease caused a
parasite

Ninety percent of the
world’s malaria-related
deaths occur in Africa

River Blindness

Led to 18 million cases of Danna Harman / © 2004 The Christian
blindness worldwide, Science Monitor
most in sub-Saharan
Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

The Main Health Challenges
in Africa, cont.

Malnutrition

The ravages of disease
in Africa are often made
worse by malnutrition

Estimates are that 1 in 3
Africans is
undernourished

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Andy Nelson / © 2002 The
Christian Science Monitor

The Extent and Impact of AIDS
in Africa

 AIDS has hit Africa
harder than any other
continent

 Two-thirds of the
world’s cases of people
with AIDS are in Africa

 Nearly 9 percent of the
African population is
infected with HIV/AIDS

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Danna Harman / © 2002 The
Christian Science Monitor

The Extent and Impact of AIDS
in Africa, cont.

 Africans are feeling the
impact of AIDS at the
household level first

 The fallout from AIDS
on individuals and
families ultimately
affects the larger
economy

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 2007 The
Christian Science Monitor

The Extent and Impact of AIDS
in Africa, cont.

AIDS is the No. 1 cause of death in
Namibia

Botswana has the highest rate of AIDS
infection in the world

South Africa has the largest HIV caseload
in the world

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

The Recurring Problems with
Famine in Africa

21 African countries with the most severe
food crises fall into three broad categories:

1. Lack of access to food is widespread
2. Can’t grow enough food
3. Food shortages in isolated regions

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

The Recurring Problems with

Famine in Africa, cont.

 Relief agencies often
step in where hunger
exists

 Poor roads, inadequate
storage facilities, and
corruption make it hard
to bring food in

 In many situations it’s
better to provide people
cash aid so that they
support their local
farmers

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Andy Nelson / © 2002 The Christian
Science Monitor

The Main Environmental Issues

Facing Africa

 Deforestation

 Desertification is the

process whereby land

becomes desert

 Biodiversity is at risk in

Africa because

deforestation and

desertification are creating

habitat loss

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 2007 The
Christian Science Monitor

The Main Environmental Issues
Facing Africa, cont.

 Causes of air pollution in Africa:

Use of “dirty” fuels
Outdated and inefficient factories
Reliance on older cars
Oil refineries and coal-fired power

plants

 Africa has a water pollution
problem stemming from lack of
sanitation

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Robert Harbison / © 1990 The
Christian Science Monitor

Human Rights Issues in Africa

 After strife of the 1990s, the United Nations
helped convene two special courts (Sierra
Leone & Rwanda)

 Both courts signal an end to war criminals
getting away with their crimes

 Strife-torn parts of Africa rely on international
aid groups to meet their people’s basic needs

 But sometimes a government throws aid
groups out

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Human Rights Issues in Africa, cont.

The Rwandan tragedy has
galvanized international
efforts against genocide

The process of bringing
perpetrators to justice has
helped the cause of the
rule of law

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Danna Harman / © 2001 The
Christian Science Monitor

Activity 1: AIDS, Health, Poverty, and
Human Rights Academic Challenge

Questions are drawn from vocabulary
terms

The first student to raise his or her hand
gets to answer the question

Each correct answer is worth one point

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Activity 2: Finding Connections
Between Africa’s Challenges

AIDS and Health
Hunger and Famine
Environmental Issues
Human Rights
Poverty

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Activity 3: Solving African Issues

1. The main health challenges, including the
extent and impact of AIDS, in Africa

2. The recurring problems with famine in Africa
3. The main environmental issues facing Africa
4. Human rights issues in Africa
5. The problem of poverty in Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Technology Enrichment: Greenbelt
Network Documentary

1. What is your personal reaction to the
video?

2. What is the connection between
biodiversity and the documentary?

3. What is the connection between
leadership and the documentary?

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Review

Ninety percent of the world’s malaria-
related deaths occur in Africa

Estimates are that 1 in 3 Africans is
undernourished

AIDS has hit Africa harder than any other
continent

Roughly two-thirds of the world’s cases of
people living with AIDS are in Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Review, cont.

Famine leads to hunger, malnutrition, and
starvation

UNEP reported that Africa was suffering
deforestation at twice the rate of the world

Ethnic strife, no rule of law, and horrific
violence are all ultimately human rights
issues

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Summary

The main health challenges in Africa
The extent and impact of AIDS in Africa
The recurring problems with famine in

Africa
The main environmental issues facing

Africa
Human rights issues in Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4

Next….

Today—AIDS,
Health, Poverty, and
Human Rights

Next—US Interests
and Regional Issues
in Africa

Chapter 3, Lesson 4 Andy Nelson / © 2002 The
Christian Science Monitor