How to help Africa?

Abstract

The fate of Africa, and within it the sub-Saharan area known as Black Africa, is to a significant degree dependent on within what time-frame fertility sinks to the level of the developed world – which does not reach simple reproduction –, and bring the successful stopping of population growth within reachable proximity. During the second half of the 2010s, the average fertility rate in Africa was 4.4, while the world average was 2.47, and that of the developed countries was less than the 2.1 level that assures simple reproduction. This is not just a question of demographics, but one of the most serious economic and environmental issues in view of the fact that further rapid population increase would negate the benefits of growth and cause further destruction of the environment, in addition to which it would increase the already significant migration pressure aimed at the European Union (EU). The authors recommend that the EU’s aid programs should concentrate directly and to a more determined extent on reducing teenage pregnancies and improving the level of education of women, because the socio-economic effect of the resulting reduction in fertility is more stable than that of aid policies, which are uncertain and often counterproductive.