The association of poverty with Africa goes together like apple pie and America. From the advertisements of malnourished, African children to our education, or rather lack of education, about African countries in the American school system, the concept of Africa as an impoverished continent has been engrained into our minds. This rhetoric of Africa has lasted over decades, with a substantial amount of aid being given to African countries to rectify this problem. And yet, sixteen of the world’s poorest countries were identified as being in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2013. This insinuates that foreign countries and organizations that provide aid, need to reevaluate why aid isn’t making a bigger impact at fixing the problem. Before the international …show more content…
As Americans, we may already believe that some products are too high, especially technology, but if paying a small percentage more means improving the living standards of Africans we should accept this if such a change were to happen. Although, the American people didn’t directly make decisions that would have such a catastrophic effect on several African countries economy or elect corrupt officials into office, it has been the tolerance of leaders like Mobutu, arranging assassinations against leaders that want to be self-reliant like Thomas Sankara, and exploiting the labor and resources of the continent by our government that makes American citizens responsible. For centuries, the cost burden of products has been places on the backs of the African people, rather than Western consumers. It is time that the Western world start bearing some of that burden to help alleviate the poverty in African