Sub-Saharan

Sub-Saharan Africa

Main article: Africa

Satellite image of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara,^[1]^[2] which contain over 80% of the population of Africa. The term is most used in discussion of contemporary international politics and economic development, while the term Black Africa is most used in discussion of art, culture, and history.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Criticism of the term
4 Demography
5 Economies
6 Health care
7 List of countries
8 References
9 External links

Geography

Sub-Saharan Africa covers an area of 24.3 million square kilometers.[3]

Since around 5,400 years ago ^[3], the Saharan and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River in Sudan, though the Nile was blocked by the river's cataracts. The modern term sub-Saharan corresponds with the south of the Sahara desert. Tropical Africa and Equatorial Africa are sometimes used as alternative labels, due to the distinctive ecology of the region.

History

Sub-Saharan Africa has been the site of many empires and kingdoms, including Nubia, Axum, Swahili States, Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, Nok, Kanem Empire, Bornu Empire, Benin Empire, Great Zimbabwe, and the Zulu Kingdom.

Criticism of the term

Some object to the usage of the term and see it is as misleading and a racist colonial way of viewing Africa.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] Authors such as P. Godfrey Okoth, Department of History University of California, states that European travelers and geographers created the concept of "two Africas," sets up the removal of African contribution to world civilization.^[7]

Demography

The population of sub-Saharan Africa was 770.3 million in 2006. ^[8] The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predict for the region a population of nearly 1.5 billion in 2050.^[9]

Economies

Generally, sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world, suffering from the effects of colonialism, economic mismanagement, local corruption. and inter-ethnic conflict. The region contains many of the least developed countries in the world. (See Economy of Africa.)

Health care

In 1987, Bamako was the location of a WHO conference known as the Bamako Initiative that helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa.^[10] The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.^[11]^[12]

Up to and including October 2006 many governments face difficulties in implementing policies aimed at mitigating the effects of the AIDS-pandemic due to lack of technical support despite a number of mitigating measures.^[13]