Scattered Ashes

I was glued to my TV all weekend watching the Live 8 concerts. Putting that together must have been a titanic undertaking; Bob Geldof deserves a great deal of recognition for his work.

Today should be an important day for the MTV/Internet generation. I must admit I watched with great excitement as all those artists and people raised their voice to demand an end to poverty. Watching Pink Floyd together on stage I though the world would come to an end. But it didn't, and today is an essential day for determining its future.

Personally, it worries me that all this effort might not be enough. Aid and debt relief should help a great deal, there's no doubt about that. However, it is important to take into account a few things: The majority of the African States have either a very young population or a very old one. Indeed, the majority of its inhabitants are either 15 years old or 65 years old. That means that Africa's labor force is extremely limited. If we take into account the fact that in some regions of Africa 5 out of every 10 people have AIDS, we may predict that in about ten years, when the majority of Africans come to age, many of them will be dead or dying of AIDS. What this means is that Africa's already limited labor force will shrink, or at best, remain at its current levels. Part of the problem is that many of these people suffering from AIDS are not aware of it, and so, the virus keeps spreading.

What would help a great deal is if the generic medications produced in India (which anger so much the US drug companies) are allowed to distribute their treatment in Africa for little or no price. At its current price, it will simply be impossible to administer a mass treatment for AIDS in Africa.

Fanon would have been heart broken if he could see Africa in its current state. Let's hope those 8 men in that 1 room manage to agree to do something to help. For my part, I'll contribute my two cents by adding the makepovertyhistory.org banner to this blog.