The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

96 JULY-AUGUST 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL He’s right that poverty has generally been reduced in developing countries. But I fear that most African countries are being left behind, as the gap between them and richer countries widens and the absolute number of people stuck in poverty remains stubbornly high. I hope Africa is not an exception to the amazing “surge” Radelet describes, but much remains to be done before Africa’s poor join the higher-income ranks. I note that 45 of the 109 countries he cites are in Africa. I do not have access to the author’s plethora of resources. My case is simply based on my firsthand observations dur- ing more than 40 years of doing develop- ment and humanitarian assistance work all over Africa. And my focus is on rural Africa, where 80 percent of Africans reside. When I compare the quality of life there today with what I recall fromwhen I lived in a village in the early 1970s, I arrive at different conclusions than Professor Radelet. Sadly, I see most rural Africans as being worse off than their parents. Sure, they are living longer and they have clinics, schools and roads where there were none before, but they are strug- gling to survive. True, many Africans were so far down 30 years ago that, statistically, they could only go up. I hope Africa is not an exception to the amazing “surge” Radelet describes, but much remains to be done before Africa’s poor join the higher-income ranks. They complain about many things. A big complaint is that there are no jobs, and they also complain about declining security. Many say life is too expensive, and they have too many mouths to feed. Rising prices for basic essentials and reduced purchasing power stresses them. They do benefit from new technolo- gies, such as cell phones and solar panels. Many are also more mobile because they possess motorbikes. But these technolo- gies have not made a dent in satisfying their basic needs. You still see too many people, particularly women, struggling to haul water and collect firewood. The percentage of African children who are permanently stunted has remained woefully high for decades, and there are now three times as many children than in 1970. Perhaps Africa’s central devel- opment challenge is its enduring high fertility rates. Also of concern is the large gender gap. As long as African women can’t get ahead, Africa can’t get ahead. Among Africa’s most formidable development challenges is the manage- ment of its agricultural, forest and pasture lands. Deforestation and land degradation are widespread. Average crop yields are well below those in the rest of the world. Topsoil is vanishing. Groundwater levels are dropping. It is difficult to build a rising standard of living when soil fertility levels are falling. Climate change adds to Africa’s chal- lenges. The high disease burden persists. While the fight to roll back malaria has had some success, it is still the biggest killer of children. Amassive effort has brought HIV/AIDS under control, but its impact remains heavy. And, as Radelet does note, progress was set back in three African countries affected by Ebola. It is tough to improve health standards as long as water and sanitation are in such a deplorable state. And for most Africans, electricity is still a dream. Africa needs to run quickly ahead to stay in the same place, and to run twice as fast to keep up with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, many African countries cannot move ahead because of natural and man-made calamities, incompetent leaders and managers, poor governance, weak or nonexistent institutions and excessive corruption. New scourges add to Africa’s problems: terrorists, drug trafficking, out-migration, and rising numbers of refugees and displaced people. Even after spending 40 years on the continent, I’m still searching for the lasting “answers” to Africa’s long- standing development problems. Many African countries are now reel- ing fromChina’s economic slowdown, depreciating currencies, a slump in key export commodity prices, rising inflation and debt levels, and the worst drought in decades. I wonder: If Prof. Radelet were to revisit the African countries he wrote about in his 2010 book, Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way , would he come away with the same optimistic conclusions he presents in this book? In 2022, when Africa is projected to have more people than China or India, I hope he can report that the majority of Africans are enjoying the “surge” he describes here. n A retired Senior FSO with USAID, Mark Wentling began his international career with the Peace Corps in Togo in 1970. During a 45-year career in diplomacy and develop- ment, he has traveled to all 54 African coun- tries. He recently settled with his family in Lubbock, Texas. Born and raised in Kansas, Wentling says he was “made” in Africa.