By Mercy Matonga & Patricia Kapulula
President Lazarus Chakwera has hit at greedy African leaders and foreign powers for perpetuating poverty across the continent.
He has since called for equal wealth distribution.
Chakwera was speaking in Lilongwe Monday during the official opening of Africa Population Conference, which aims at examining the state of knowledge gaps regarding various population and development issues facing the African continent.
Chakwera said Africa has enough resources for its people and dismissed assertions that overpopulation alone was responsible for the poverty on the continent.
While acknowledging that “breeding too much” was placing a strain on Africa’s natural resources, Chakwera called for further interrogation of the role of African leaders.
“I find that this kind of thinking and narrative is over-simplistic and smacks of afro-pessimism, for if there is a continent in the world that has enough natural resources to sustain its people, it is Africa, for I doubt that there is anyone in this room who does not know that the unequal distribution of Africa’s natural wealth is less a factor of its population and more a factor of its mismanagement by the greedy governments within and its theft through unfair international trade policies by the greedy governments without,” Chakwera said.
He pointed at the recent thwarted coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example of foreign greed which is costing the continent.
He said the mineral-rich eastern region of the Congo has become a playground of armed mercenaries sponsored and armed by external forces.
However, Chakwera said the continent must leverage the current demographic dividend by “nurturing, empowering, and deploying its people, not lamenting it”.
Visiting Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson called for investment in sexual reproductive health and rights and human empowerment to develop the continent.
“We see this as an opportunity but we need to see more investments in education,” he said.
On her part, United States Chargé d’Affaires Amy Diaz said America would continue to support the study of populations.
She acknowledged that this can be a sensitive topic, particularly when there is a growing populace without commensurate investments in health, education and infrastructure.
“Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africans under the age of 30. One thing we can all agree on is that Africa’s young population is driving economic growth, partnerships and innovation. With the right investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure and job creation, Africa’s demographic dividend can unleash an even more profound wave of productivity and entrepreneurship. A healthy, educated, youthful workforce can fuel prosperity for generations to come,” Diaz said.
Regional Director for United Nations Population Fund Eastern and Southern African Lydia Zigomo said population growth has multiple impacts on economies.
“Since 1994, we have seen improvement in school enrollment among girls and boys and we have also seen the increase in the number of women in high positions in government and private institutions,” she said.
However, she said there are other challenges that have risen within the period.
“Africa still faces challenges of teenage pregnancies, stagnated maternal mortality and high HIV cases, among others.
“We need to raise the focus in ensuring the activation of population policies and institutional capacities in all sectors,” Zigomo said.
The current population of Africa is 1,490,481,450, as at Friday, May 17 2024, based on the latest United Nations estimates.
Africa’s population is equivalent to 17.89 percent of the total world population.
According to the forecast, Africa’s total population would reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050.
In 2023, the continent had around 1.36 billion inhabitants, with Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt as the most populous countries.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Road to 2030: Leveraging Africa’s Human Capital to Achieve Transformation in A World of Uncertainty’.
In another development, Iceland has offered to help Malawi meet education and health service delivery goals.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nancy Tembo disclosed this to journalists immediately after bilateral talks between Malawi and Iceland at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe yesterday.
She said Iceland is investing in the education and health sectors in the country, targeting Mangochi District.
“The model is that Iceland concentrates on a particular area and see its impact. In Mangochi, they noted that there was a problem of high school dropout rates for girls, hence their investment in education.
“Now we have seen an improvement as the number of girls remaining in school has improved,” she said.
Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, arrived in the country on Sunday through Kamuzu International Airport for a five-day working visit.
He is expected to visit Koche Demonstration School in Mangochi on Wednesday, among other engagements.
Early this year, Chakwera inaugurated the construction of a state-of-the-art maternity wing at Makanjira in Mangochi as part of Iceland’s support to Malawi’s health sector.
Malawi and Iceland’s relations date back to 35 years ago.— Mana
