AFRICA ZERO POVERTY ASSOCIATION (AZPA)

Africa includes some of the poorest countries in the world. In much of Africa south of the Sahara, harsh environmental conditions exacerbate the conditions of poverty. Dry and barren land covers large expanses of this region. As the poor try to eke out livings through farming and other subsistence practices, they exhaust the land, using up the soil nutrients needed to grow crops. Over time this has led to desertification, a process in which once fertile land turns to desert. During the late 20th century, desertification contributed to famines in a number of African nations, including Somalia, Ethiopia, and Mali. Political instability and wars in many sub-Saharan countries have also contributed to poverty. As a result of such factors, the number of people living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa grew from 217 million in 1987 to more than 300 million in 1998.

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Child Poverty in Africa – the facts

• 200,000 child slaves are sold every year in Africa. There are an estimated 8,000 girl-slaves in West Africa alone. (sources: BBC 5 October, 2001 & Anti-Slavery Society)

• About 120,000 African children are participating in armed conflicts. Some are as young as 7 years old. (source: Africa Children’s Charter)

• Children account for half of all civilian casualties in wars in Africa. (source: Africa 2015)

• One in six African children dies before the age of five. Most of these deaths could be prevented. (source: Africa 2015)

• Nearly one third of children in Sub-Saharan Africa are underweight. (source: UNICEF)

• In sub-Saharan Africa, measles takes the life of a child nearly every minute of every day. An effective measles vaccine costs as little as $1 per child. (source: UNICEF)

• Between 12 and 14 million African children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. (source: World Bank/UNICEF)

• Nearly 2 million children under 14 years old are HIV positive. (source: UNICEF)

• 43% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have safe, accessible drinking water. (source: UNICEF)

• 64% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have adequate sanitation. (source: UNICEF)

• Only 57% of African children are enrolled in primary education, and one in three of those does not complete school. (source: Africa 2015)

• For every 100 boys there are only 83 girls enrolled at primary school. (source: World Bank/UNICEF)

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What are the major challenges facing Africa today?

The challenges facing Africa are daunting.  Africa has the highest proportion of its people in extreme poverty and is not on target to meet any of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed at the United Nations in 2000.  The MDGs are:

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty is falling, but there are large variations in progress between regions. Asia is making good progress, but there is little movement elsewhere and sub-Saharan Africa is going backwards.

  The world already produces enough food, but the key to eradicating hunger is to ensure that ordinary people in the developing world can get access to it and that it’s affordable. Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.

• Achieve universal primary education
  Number of girls out of school in Africa is the highest in the world (23m)

• Promote gender equality and empower women
  Having more educated women with greater rights could make the single biggest positive difference to reducing poverty, the rate of childhood diseases and death and the spread of AIDS in developing countries.

• Reduce child mortality
  Thirty years ago, one in five children in the world died before their fifth birthday. This has now been halved to less than one in ten. Better access to vaccinations and other basic health services and improved living standards have contributed to a steep decline in global deaths among infants and children over the past 30 years.

• Improve maternal health
  Every year, more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Almost all of them would still be alive if they had access to a skilled midwife or doctor in childbirth and effective emergency care for women who have complications.

• Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
  In Africa, in 2003, some 26.6 million people were living with HIV, 3.2 million people became infected, and AIDS killed 2.3 million.

• Ensure environmental sustainability
  Many of the world’s poorest people depend on natural resources for a healthy diet, clean water, shelter, energy, and medicines. What’s more, these people are often most vulnerable to disasters and hazards such as flooding, landslides and pollution brought about or exacerbated by environmental degradation

• Develop a global partnership for development
  The targets in the global partnership for development millennium development goal include a fairer trading and financial system. Getting rid of barriers to trade could lift almost 300 million people in the developing world out of poverty.

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What is being done to help Africa?

Despite the challenges, there are signs of progress and more is achievable.  Importantly, Africa’s development agenda is increasingly African-led.  Improved partnerships between African and donor nations have resulted in increased aid flows being used more effectively.

The African Union (AU), supported by the donor community, is helping to deliver many of Africa’s pre-requisites for development; particularly in the areas of peace and security and governance.  The AU are developing the necessary structures and institutions to allow Africa to better prevent, manage, and resolve conflict in the region.

There has been a recent major shift in African effort to address the continents problems. The New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD) and the AU aim to tackle HIV/AIDS, reduce poverty and sustain long-term economic growth. It’s committed to governance and promoting peace and security. Many countries are showing signs of progress towards democracy and governance. The African Union has established the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a voluntary self monitoring mechanism for states to conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate governance values. 24 countries have so far signed up to participate in the APRM.

A number of countries within Africa have made real progress:

• In the last five years, Mozambique has reduced poverty from 70% to 55% and has doubled the number of children in school; 

• Kenya has introduced free primary education, which has brought 1.2 million children back into school; 

• In Tanzania, 1000 new schools have been built and 18,000 teachers recruited.  This will enable Tanzania to achieve the goal of primary education for all in 2006 – 9 years before the target date of 2015;

• Uganda has reduced HIV from 20% in 1991 to around 6.5% in 2001.  The experience of Uganda in relation to HIV/AIDS shows that with political will the tide of an epidemic can be turned;

These are just a few examples of what can be done.

Countries in the north are recognizing that partnerships with countries based on a commitment by both sides brings real benefits in the long term.  High and predictable levels of resources to countries that have a credible Poverty Reduction Strategy and the political will and capacity to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals can reduce poverty (this is the case in Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda and Rwanda).

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Sources:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761577020_4/Poverty.html http://www.standupforafrica.org.uk/index.html
http://www.g8.gov.uk/

What’s the problem with poverty in Africa? Decade after decade, politicians and international organizations have failed to reduce it. Nor have they been able to help Africa generate growth. Worse, between 1975 and 2000 it was the only place on earth where poverty has intensified. It’s only recently that the situation started to improve… slowly

In fact, there has been some growth since 1995 but it’s been mostly in the very new services sector so it created only a few jobs whereas manufacturing and agriculture could have done much better. As the British prime minister declared in 2001 African poverty is “a scar on the conscience of the world”, and globalization and technological inflation have made it only worse. It only helped further excluding the continent and widening the gaps with the rest of the world. However development economists and other fancy experts have been approaching the problem from new angles to provide new ways to best tackle impoverishment.

Let’s see how all that improves our understanding of poverty in Africa, the plague of a continent.

Globalization and institutions

Aside from political and social reasons (e.g. corruption, ethnic violence), many economists argue that the absence of economic growth is in part due to a detrimental geography that impacts on the economy. But in many cases, oil-rich African countries are also more likely to be exploited by other countries or powerful corporations.

In most developing countries, disparities pose the problem of redistribution of wealth, but many African countries are simply too poor to redistribute anything. The average income level is sometimes so low that even working people live under poverty. So, how do you fix that?

International trade policies, for example, are incomparably more important than international aid to end African poverty and help its countries to integrate the global market. Surprising? Not that much considering the global competition that the continent has to face: not only are the US, the European Union protecting their key industries (especially those that Africa could compete with, like agriculture), but now Asian countries also got in the game, spearheaded by India and China.

With each of them seeking to protect their benefits, the international community should rather give preferential market conditions to poor countries (e.g. for export or agricultural development). This would provide them a path to fast development, and hopefully diffuse the benefits to inner regions. In that way the internal market could also thrive and help alleviate poverty in African countries that are landlocked. Read here how African farmers have finally won their case at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

So far local governments, international aid and market reforms had only a minimal effect on the population. Consequence: folks have had to solve their problems on their own, outside the system. It is only recently that new international policies, such as the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in Africa, have stopped overlooking at the effect of politics on local economies: transparent and accountable government, rule of law, public resources management, free and fair election combined with an active civil society are now recognized as a vital factor of poverty alleviation. This whole forms what specialists now call “good governance”.

Considering the extent of corruption and violence of local councils and governments, it’s not surprising that a huge part of the African population can only fend for itself most of the time, relying on a makeshift economy. This makes them hard to reach by international aid but at least they have an alternative system to fall back upon: coping through sharing. Not only farmers in rural areas but African urbanites as well manage to avoid the claws of the law. This makes many development policies totally ineffective.

International aid

Another issue is that of international aid. Aid donors obviously want to make sure that their money is put to the right use, rather than to building palaces for individual use. Now how things have changed is that foreign aid has become demand-driven with local communities, governments and NGOs competing to receive the funds. This should help foster competitiveness and efficiency of development projects as well as transparency. In other words it should radically reduce corruption and embezzlement.

This model was field tested and can help avoid the case of the African Millennium Villages, blindly “shooting” money in every direction in a local community, like a crazy action hero that does not take nuances into account! What is needed is targeted funding that provides new opportunities and incentives for people to participate in the development of their country. Humanitarian aid remains way too opaque, only the most concrete and effective programs should remain. In particular those that help local entrepreneurs, not multinationals.

Geography and poverty in African regions

Recently specialists have increasingly taken into account the role of geography to explain the absence of economic growth and the aggravation of poverty in Africa. Whereas in many developing countries there are disparities that pose the problem of redistribution of wealth, Africa is simply too poor to redistribute anything. Well that’s not totally true. Africa is full of natural resources, but to give just one example many multinational companies that extract these resources don’t even pay any taxes to the country where they operate. In other cases, it’s simply that the local aristocracy keeps all the revenues to itself.

So poverty in Africa is paradoxical: the continent is made of 54 countries of low population density and rich in natural resources, but as usual they’re unevenly distributed between regions and within local populations. The countries are separated into resource-rich and -poor and into coastal and landlocked ones. Across all categories, most countries have remained stuck with a GDP per capita below $2000 for the past six decades.

Unlike other continents, a great share of the population in Africa lives in landlocked, resource-scarce countries which accounts for 1% of its overall growth rate. Another consequence of this is that policymakers need to start thinking in terms of context-based development strategies rather than continent-based ones.

In particular concerning the resource-poor landlocked regions which will remain the very core of the African poverty puzzle. A puzzle that year after year became obviously unsolvable in a day. These very countries are the ones that would need a sort of targeted, continuous aid flow in order to steadily raise consumption levels, therefore consistently reducing poorness in Africa. Nevertheless, today’s aid flows only focus on short-term emergencies.

Read here about the influence of oil on poverty in Sudan and Darfur

Health and poverty in Africa

Almost half of the population in Africa suffers from water-related diseases. On top of insufficient hygiene education, the frequent inundations (and lack of risk prevention) play an important role: in Mozambique over 1 million people were displaced by the floods of 1999/2000 and an unknown number killed.

Diseases in Africa – and in particular HIV-AIDS – are another major threat to economic development. As an academic (Whiteside 2002) puts it: “one of the main consequences of the disease is that it impoverishes individuals, households and communities”, thus further entrenching the roots of poverty in Africa.

This is a vicious circle by which poverty boosts the spread of HIV which in turn increases poverty. The case of the poor in South Africa shows that despite the country’s substantial growth, that growth is still too concentrated in the hands of an “uninfected” minority. That way the gap between the rich and the poor only gets bigger and bigger, making it harder for impoverished populations to catch up with the well-off.

As for basic sanitation and hygiene, it is first and foremost an educational issue. Hygienic habits have consistently prevented millions of deaths across the world in the past decades. And just like in all the countries where it happened, massive full-scale educational campaigns are needed to significantly alleviate poverty in Africa.

Read here about the role of HIV/AIDS in worsening poverty in South Africa

Education and poverty in Africa

Education then is yet another big issue. Starting to feel slightly overwhelmed? We’re just talking about everyday life poverty here! … So, not only does proper education help eradicate a great deal of diseases (STIs, sanitation, etc), but there is also a direct link between levels of education and poverty.

Authoritarian rule in most countries has only made the situation worse, deepening both levels of education and poverty in Africa. For that reason, although some argue that authoritarian regimes can better spur development in some cases (China, Singapore,…), in Africa democracy seems better suited. This is due to several factors including: the multi-ethnics nature of the countries (better representation of everyone’s interests), the need for better governance and redistribution of the riches in absence of strong political will, and pervasiveness of corruption that drives people away from the legal and institutional life.

Even though many Western universities tend to forget it, education is in general about teaching people skills (duh), thereby enhancing productivity, creativity, and exchanges. Higher education is as well crucial to bring Africa back into the world system (yes it’s been kind of left aside) and bridge the digital gap with other continents. What we need is then consistent education in ICTs on top of developing the infrastructure (optic fiber, antennas, electricity grids,…) so that people can benefit from an advanced use of ICTs and harness their economic potential.

Obviously on a priority list of fighting poverty in the African continent this comes after the most basic needs such as food, water, health, energy,… How could you possibly charge a computer’s battery without electricity in your town? Yet they did that mistake a few years ago and sent thousands of laptops.

Read here about the importance of education in fighting poverty in Kenya

Hunger and Water

Hunger, a typical feature of African poverty

In the past 30 years only sub-Saharan Africa saw no improvement in fight against malnutrition and hunger in Africa (or several types of malnutrition). Currently there are an estimated 80% of Africans who suffer from hunger, and 30% of whom are children. Despite poverty in Nigeria and in Zimbabwe, these countries were part of the group that manage to reduce its underweight population between 1976 and 1995.

On the other hand just as many countries – a dozen – were suffering from sharp rises in under-nutrition. The worst case is that of poverty in Ethiopia which left over a million people underfed. The plight of hunger is undoubtedly one of the most severe effects of poverty in Africa, where it is incomparably harsher than in most other places.

Water

“All peoples, whatever their stage of development and their social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of a quality equal to their basic needs”.
(Action Plan, United Nations Water Conference, Mar del Plata, 1977)

More than 30 years after this statement, more than 50% of Africans still suffer from water-related diseases (cholera, diarrhea). Although the continent is blessed with large rivers such as the Congo, the Nile, the Zambezi and the Niger, uneven geographical distribution causes sharp shortages of water in Africa. History has shown that despite technical, financial, economic and institutional support in water-related projects, poor governance has been a major factor in ruining those efforts and resources.

The end of the tunnel…?

Poverty in Africa and in the world is the primary obstacle in the provision of basic services. It affects elementary water supply, sanitation and education in incredibly diverse ways. Ultimately it becomes so all-pervasive that it overwhelms the application of the very best practices drawn from past lessons. The way out of poverty in Africa is therefore hardly imaginable without the constructive and appropriate help and cooperation of the international community, along with (increasingly) that of private businesses from other countries.

Get a better grasp of African poverty by checking out the page on Africa Facts.

 
Africa map

Darker is Poorer but some light areas are just ‘no data’ – see our Poor in a Rich World page.

A majority of the worlds poorest countries today are in Africa. Of course some African countries like South Africa and Egypt are not quite as poor as others like Angola and Ethiopia. And though in recent years absolute poverty in Africa has shown some slight falls, African income levels have actually been dropping relative to the rest of the world. So poor Africa is getting relatively poorer on average, and 2011 sees drought in North East Africa again bringing the prospect of starvation to millions in the region affecting Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya – and in Somalia religious war has been worsening the famine situation there..

Famine in Africa

1. The land is a major problem in Africa, with many African countries having confused land ownership so that much useful land is unused – and in some African countries where rainfall is unreliable there is still little or no irrigation of land. Africa’s natural resources have also been mostly monopolised by European and American companies largely taking money out of Africa. And African land degradation, largely due to poor land management, has mostly been worsening in recent years especially in East Africa and near the Sahara.

2. Financial aid going to African countries has often been mostly emergency food aid needed as short-term help with famines, and any longer-term aid has often been misappropriated for personal wealth by corrupt officials or for military spending. Where useful financial aid has been supplied to African countries it has often been in the form of loans with high interest rates that poor countries find too expensive a debt burden. Africa has to date attracted little foreign investment though much of that has been more stable longer-term European investment as in mining.

3. The terms of trade set by richer countries tend often to exploit poor countries and give unfairly low price for their exports of commodities such as tea, coffee, bananas and their other export products. And foreign businesses operating in Africa also often do not help the local economy as much as they easily could help. Some of these problems are of course not unique to Africa and are seen also in some non-African poor countries.

4. Education, medicine and drinking water are also major problems in poor African countries – as well as transport and energy. Diseases like AIDS, malaria and cholera are widespread with the latter two involving poor water systems. In some African countries a lack of adequate medical services is helping maintain poverty for many families.

5. Many have noted that countries in Africa have often suffered from civil wars and inadequate government, and this may be in part due to many African countries being artificial colonial creations with borders that make sustainable government more difficult. Conflict-torn countries with long running civil wars such as Angola, Burundi, Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda have had little effective government, making it very difficult to get hold of supplies or build necessary infrastructures. This has also given neighbouring countries big refugee problems. And much of Africa has also had corrupt government, like Zimbabwe. But in Africa both the wars and the corrupt governments maintaining poverty, have often been supported by richer Western governments.

But many countries in Africa are now showing some real signs of progress towards better governance. The African Union has established the voluntary self-monitoring Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) for states to conform to agreed political, economic and corporate governance values. Twenty nine of Africa’s fifty three states signed up to participate in APRM by June 2008, being – Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. This at least shows that governments of these countries are aware that government may need improving. See APRM.

Some of the poorest countries in Africa really need substantial prolonged aid to fund direct universal welfare benefit systems to help them climb out of poverty. Extreme poverty being widespread helps cause other bad things like many children being sold as slaves or used in armies and getting no education.

African poverty often means widespread hunger and starvation. And it is a general fact of poverty that if you are too poor then you may have no resources to improve that. But progress on poverty in Africa can be achieved with a bit more real effort, and is being achieved now to at least some extent in parts of Africa such as Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

To quote Nelson Mandela,
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.

Cash-strapped African governments have to squeeze every last penny out of their agricultural sector, imposing taxes on production that help drive up food prices and help drive down wages in Africa. In addition, African governments often have to sell their export crops for bargain prices to pay the interest on their foreign debt. Richer importing nations know that the producers have to sell, and so offer artificially low prices. And while spending on education and health need increasing in much of Africa to help reduce long-term poverty, aid loans often require their governments to reduce spending.

African farmers especially need to use more fertilisers, but they are too expensive for many to use. On average Africa did make some poverty progress in the years 2000 to 2008, but have undone some of that progress since. In many poorer African countries, the current world recession is causing family remittances from overseas workers or migrant workers to fall now. As more migrant workers lose jobs in South Africa, Western Europe and the USA, remittances to families in the poorest African countries are being hit. And aid has not been rising recently.

While different African countries are affected by poverty somewhat differently, and need different means of handling their poverty problems, one appropriate aid mechanism could be the most effective. A substantial regular annual non-loan financial aid package should be agreed by the main aid-donor governments, and be provided only through the African Union for appropriate distribution to African countries each year. And the African Union should be required to monitor and report on such aid’s effectiveness in reducing poverty in each African country.

iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B000QRIGI0fc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeExcept there is national fuel scarcity, going from Monatan to Iyana Church in Ibadan will cost you just twenty naira hence we rarely witness drama between commuters and conductors on buses plying the route. But on this fateful Monday morning, I was left tongue drooped and speechless when a woman expertly arranged four kids on a seat meant for one, and had two more on her lap. Even the blood red eyed conductor couldn’t utter a statement. We didn’t know which is more baffling – her genius ideation as a result of her inability to pay for more seats that would make her kids sit more comfortable, or God’s unusual benevolence to this thirty something years old lady who already has six kidsbr /br /As the Bible rightly refers to children as the “heritage of God,” being blessed with the fruit of the womb is often the defining moment in the lives of married couples. Except in the developed world where many now choose to marry without giving birth to children, having babies is the major reason why many marry. In Africa, barrenness is the worst thing that can ever happen to a happily married couple. Various African cultures have different views to barrenness and none of them is desirable.br /br /The childless woman goes through deep sorrows in African society and there are numerous proverbs to that effect, one of them is: “the woman whose sons have died is richer than a barren woman.” In Ghana, here and elsewhere, parental blessings often run along the lines of: “May you bear children like bees; May you bear children like calabash seeds…” Although today’s economic and educational pressures will force a change in these sentiments, they further validate the assertion that being fertile is a major prerequisite for happy marriage.br /br /But not everyone is fertile. In the United States, more than five million Americans, both men and women, have problems with infertility. But unlike what we still battle with here, American couples generally open up to each other, they talk to their medical experts on time to remove the risk factors, and are fairly financially stable to afford recommended medical procedures and lifestyle changes which could be diet-related, hormone dependent, or entail treating underlying ailments and speedily addressing inappropriate drug dosage and usage. They also have the adoption option when nothing works.br /br /Poor_womanHere however, many actions and traditions form synergy with the underlying cause(s) of infertility thus making life more unbearable for the worried couple. One of such is faith.br /br /As a highly religious nation, most barren couples here wait on God before booking a gynaecology appointment. Just like Hannah in the Bible, Nigerian barren couples patiently await God’s appointed time. They pray. They are anointed. They sow seeds. They make vows. And they go for countless deliverance sessions. They believe the weapons for their warfare (with barrenness) are not, as the Bible puts it, carnal, thus leaving out the fact that sometimes, a simple health tip could answer their prayer points. However, God is not on the hot seat, neither is the efficacy of prayers in addressing infertility issues facing Nigerian couples the focus of this article. We are concerning ourselves with what looks like an anomaly – an aberration and deviation from the norm we are familiar with on this part of existence where the rich has it all.br /br /I remember being on a research team that studied the correlation between the low standard of living of the poor people living in an overcrowded area in a remote part of Ibadan and the high incidence of cholera outbreaks in the area. Apart from evident malnourishment, we had so many children around us. We had an average of about twenty children per house unlike that of three children per house in a government residential area (GRA) in the same city while understudying the rich community. I know many factors apart from fertility are responsible for this very wide margin. For instance, we have to factor in the cost of birth control methods (though cheap, many poor people would prefer to buy two cups of garri instead of latex condoms) and illiteracy. Many rich men also have many wives that are blessed with many children, hence broadly saying that only the poor are fertile would be very wrong.br /br /But as a medical scientist working in a government hospital, I know that poor pregnant women attending antenatal clinics outnumber the nouveau riches with bundles of joy (fetuses) growing in them many times over. On average, I attend to about fifty pregnant women daily out of which less than ten could be said to be well educated. I had the notion that I was the only sharing the view until a colleague pointed out similar concerns. This sent me to the medical library to unearth the mystery behind poverty-induced fertility and what those in search of the fruit of the womb can learn from Nigeria’s less privileged yet divinely blessed families.br /br /Though there is extensive disagreement in medical science concerning the specific age range, the most fertile female years are in the twenties and fertility starts to decline for women from about the age of 30, dropping down more steeply from 35. As a woman grows older, the likelihood of getting pregnant falls while the probability of infertility rises. For a career lady who has bagged her bachelor’s degree, running her masters programme and thinking of starting a PhD programme before settling down to raise beautiful kids, she would have gone down the steep infertility slope. But the seventeen years old illiterate girl selling banana at the motor park has all the time in the world to raise kids with the dark tall lanky bus driver she secretly admires.br /br /Unlike in ladies, age is not really a fertility factor for men. Even in Nigeria, we’ve had reports of octogenarians impregnating women of all ages. However, obesity, heavy coffee consumption, medications and busy sex schedules have all been associated with male infertility.br /br /Nigeria’s successful male bankers can afford to buy air-conditioned cars to move from one place to another. They don’t sweat. They expend few calories hence the excess is accumulated and ultimately lead to obesity when left unchecked. From an erection stand point, anything that’s good for the heart is good for the penis. Too much saturated fat can, over time, clog arteries and, in doing so, prevent an adequate flow of blood from reaching the genital region. This not only interferes with the ability to “perform”, but also with sexual pleasure, semen production and transportation thus resulting in secondary infertility.br /br /iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B003ZSJ212fc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeBut a man struggling with poverty rarely struggles with obesity and excess saturated fat. Unlike those that accumulate calories they don’t use, a poor man has less than enough food for his digestive system to breakdown. His arteries are not clogged, there is adequate blood flow to his genital region and no excess fat is interfering with his sperm production hence he is fertile except he’s into alcoholism or heavily smokes tobacco and marijuana which are even expensive!br /br /Libido, quality and frequency of sex also go a long way in determining an individual’s fertility status. Fertility experts often recommend that couples should consistently have sex two or three times a week because for healthy couples who want to conceive, there’s no such thing as too much sex. For most poor couples, this is all it takes. But for the rich busy business-minded couple, the secretaries will have to cancel lots of appointments for their oga and madam to make love.br /br /The fertility conundrum is not totally against the rich. It’s been documented that they have easier access to fertility experts to sort out what the problem really is. While most poor couples beseech churches, mosques and traditional healing homes in search of the fruit of the womb, their rich fellow baby seekers often book appointments at gynaecology clinics and IVF centers like the popular Nordica Fertility Centre in Lagos which might cost fortunes. Also, couples with fatter bank accounts and better living conditions often have it easier with the child welfare department when considering adoption; and when they finally get the much sought after child, they go to any length to shower such kids with love; something that is resource-limited in a relationship where the couple can barely afford to put food on the table.br /br /In our nation, the financial strengths, economic might and social statuses of men and women can determine who is barren, and whose children outnumber the stars in the sky. Furthermore, these dividing factors also suggest the course of actions to take.br /br /Men and women in cash-trapped relationships are advised to marry as early as possible and start the process of conception before age-induced infertility sets in. And for the rich in the society who are thinking of building many mansions, bagging emeritus professorship and touring the world before walking down the aisle, there is the need for them to set up a fertility trust fund, fight obesity with [un]holy anger, guard against illicit sex life, treat all infections, and go for regular medical examinations to determine their fertility statuses.br /br /In many developed countries of the world, men and women now operate savings accounts in a very special kind of bank where semen and eggs are the accepted fixed deposits. I know few of such banks are springing up in Nigeria, but the cost of opening and operating such account is quite expensive – very expensive for some rich people in the society hence there is the need for government’s involvement. Government’s involvement could help lower the cost which is currently running into several hundreds of thousands of naira monthly. The government can establish fertility centers, eggs and sperm banks across the nation. There is the growing need to regulate the activities of existing fertility facilities to determine and ascertain the safety, efficacy and potency of stored eggs and semen.br /br /Whether natural or artificial, nature and man are creating solutions to the most dreaded nightmare of African couples. For ages, infertility has been the major cause of unhappy marriages and lack of information on what to do, who to talk to, how and when to act are not just prolonging the unhappy days but without quick interventions, not doing the right thing on time could make any intervention at a later date a futile effort.br /br /iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B002YKOXB6fc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeMedical researchers have provided new expensive methods and insights into cheap lifestyle changes that can help every baby lover. Whether it’s an improvement in sex life using Viagra, eating baby-friendly diets like soy, staying off tobacco and marijuana, or just studying the ovulation calendar, combating infertility is a resource intensive, time dependent, psychologically challenging and socially intimidating process. But the good news is that whether you are poor or rich, there is something you can do apart from waiting on the Lord. That, I think, is what the baby wants to see before choosing to come to you.br /br /Adepoju Paul Olusegun – adepojupaul@gmail.com

Africa Zero Poverty Association – a nongovernmental organization committed to the task of eliminating poverty from Africa. We work directly with poor entrepreneurs to develop their capacity to grow and create employment.

iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=0307590615fc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeMost of us have the urge to always want to please others. We do not like to say no to their requests, and yet that can create some difficult situations in which they take on more than they can handle. br /Being agreeable to almost everyone sometimes leads to doing dishonest things and breaking some rules and important principles. It is only after a bit of suffering, and may be some growing up, that we learn to set priorities, saying “yes” when possible and saying “no” when things are not possible or even wrong. When the going was good, we tend to always pattern our behaviours to that of the “good person” we think that we are. br /iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B002TZ3D2Gfc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeMy wife picked up a young beautiful girl who was actually running away from home. At the age of six, according to her, she had severally been abused sexually by people who were supposed to give her the protection that she needed at that tender age. Her supposed uncles and neighbours took advantage of her vulnerability to assault her sexually. Each time this happens they will send gift items to her poor parents and they, thinking they are being nicer, kept sending her to the homes of her molesters as a casual house-help.br /For the next five years she had lived in a prison of shame, fear, false guilt, and confusion. This made her to always pull back or try to freeze each time her parents tried to show their affection either with a simple hug or through any other way. She could not help but hate herself. She was living in a prison called “memory”. br /Memory is that faculty that enables all of us to relive yesterday. That means you can be hurt everyday of your life if you can’t forget! To forget a matter is not to deny that it never occurred or happened, but to anesthetize the hurt, so that the memory is now surrounded by peace, not pain. To forget a matter always comes as a result of forgiveness. When we forgive an offence, it means that healing has taken place, so that the injury done is gone, even though the scar remains. To find out if actually you have forgiven and forgotten an issue, is when you longer feel hurt or develop the urge to retaliate, each time you look at the scar or the blemish that was left behind.br /iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B003GAMPWMfc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframeHowever, as you look at the scar, instead of fretting, you develop an inward joy that often causes you to smile, laugh or tend to encourage another person. This is what God meant when He says that He’ll forgive us. Yet so many people don’t feel forgiven and therefore they conclude that they must not be forgiven. Also our wrong concept about God makes it difficult for us to forget what God has forgiven. When we keep thinking that we can find fellowship with God, drawing on His forgiveness and amazing love while setting our own boundaries within the relationship, we succeed only in walking on the path that leads to no where.br /When my wife brought home that young girl, she broke down, sobbing and had her head buried in her hands because of shame. She was too ashamed to relate her ordeal, but when she did, she help, hope and joy. So many people today are living in this same prison called “memory”, thinking that their own lives would no longer have meanings for them. That’s a big lie! God is still in the business of healing and mending broken hearts. When you make yourself available, He will actually send someone to help you, and put smiles on your face again. The young girl in my house was misled and her life almost put to jeopardy by her parents’ belief in pleasing almost every body around, not minding the implication. Thank God that today, through the mercy and love of God, so many mistakes have been corrected. This tells you that you are not alone, don’t remain and die in your own prison, you too can forgive and be forgiven!br /iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwfirebr-20o=1p=8l=bplasins=B002Y27P3Mfc1=000000IS2=1lt1=_blankm=amazonlc1=0000FFbc1=000000bg1=FFFFFFf=ifr” style=”align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;”align=”left” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″/iframe

DO PICTURES TELL T H E TRUTH?”br /”Was it really like that?” we ask when we see a picture or photograph. Often there are pictures of Jesus (Isa Masih) in Bibles or storybooks that show him as a white man with blue eyes.br /Of course, there were no cameras at the time when Jesus lived, so no-one knows what he looked like, or the exact colour of his skin. But we can be sure that because he was a man from the Middle East, he had dark skin and brown eyes.br /br /BORN IN ASIA, LIVED IN AFRICAbr /Jesus was born in Asia, in the country then called Palestine. When he was a child, his family became refugees in an African country. They had to escape because their lives were in danger from a dictator – the cruel ruler of their country. Jesus was not a European, he never even visited Europe!br /*Ancestors of his people came from different tribes and countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.br /So Christianity did not start in any Western country. Groups of Christians were meeting to worship God in many parts of Africa and India only a few years after Jesus died. Many people living in China, Mongolia and Japan 800 years ago believed in Jesus.br /Europe is a place where people have turned away from God. There are many more followers of Jesus in Africa and Asia than in Europe. br /br /DOES IT MATTER?br /So does it matter what colour Jesus was? The Bible says that he was a person like us, except that he never did anything wrong. So if we make pictures of him, it is good to show him as a person from our country – even wearing the sort of clothes that our people wear. A picture that shows Jesus like this is telling something true. It is saying to us that Jesus can be a friend, a brother, a part of our family. It shows that he understands how we feel inside – our problems and worries.br /He wants all of us to join his family, whatever tribe, group or country we belong to. Only when we belong to him can we be complete and whole. Without him, there is an empty space in our lives – nothing else can fill that space, even though we try to find things that will do it.br /This is explained in the Bible’s book of Hebrews (part of the Injil): “Jesus, the high priest that we have, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways that we are tempted but he never sinned” (Chapter 4 verse 15).br /The One (Jesus) who makes people holy, and those people who are made holy, are from the same family. So he (Jesus) is not ashamed to call those people his brothers and sisters.” (Chapter 2, verse 11)br /br /NOT J UST FOR WHITE MENbr /Onage James is a SOON reader from Busia, Kenya and writes: I did not know the love of God. When I was a boy I laughed at my friends if they talked about Jesus Christ. I used to say, “That is the white men’s *tradition.”br /Our family rarely went to any Christian meetings even though my father knew the Bible very well. He never taught us that God loves us. Instead our home became a bad place to be in. br /Then things began to change slowly. My grandmother came all the way from Sudan to visit us in Kenya. She was a Christian and I used to say, “This old woman is wasting her time,” because she often talked to God (prayed), even saying thank you to him every time she had a drink of water. I hated her prayers.br /My grandmother became ill and, after a few days, she died. The next morning, when we were going to bury her, my old grandfather died too. I was so sad that I could not hold back my tears. But even after this I did not turn to God and things just became worse. I continued to *mock Christians.br /br /MORE SADNESSbr /In 1998, my mother had an accident and could not leave her bed. She died on December 15. I wanted to kill myself because I loved my mother so much but I decided not to do so. The sadness made me ill with stomach ulcers.br /My father missed my mother and he missed his children because we were away at boarding schools. He too developed stomach ulcers. Then in February 2000 he died. All hope left us. People came and took all that we possessed and we were left with an empty house.br /Because I am the eldest son in the family of five, I had to take over. I cut trees on our land and sold them to pay the school fees for my younger brother and sisters. My friends stayed away from me because they knew they could not help me.br /br /SPECIAL STORYbr /One day I was alone in my room. I took my father’s Bible and started to read. I found a story Jesus told about a boy who went away from his father and did many wrong things. His life got so bad that no one would help him and he could not help himself. At last he went to his father who welcomed him back into his home.br /br /I realized I was like the son and God is like the father. It was as though I had been a blind man and did not see how much God loved me. So I knelt down and asked God to forgive me for all the wrong things I had said about him. I needed Jesus Christ to show me the way to go. br /Now I know he is not “the white men’s tradition”. He is the true God who loves us whatever we have done or said. I still struggle to help my brother and sisters, I am still an orphan, but I know Jesus will always be with me and help me in my struggles. br /You can read this story in the book of the Bible called Luke, chapter 15 and verses 11 to 32. br /br /br /DID YOU KNOW? Caring for youngbr /br /Many baby animals need their parents. For some kinds of animals, it is a very short time, for others it is longer. For humans, children need their parents to look after them for many years. Many are damaged when this does not happen.br /- When the eggs of the mallee fowl (a brown bird) hatch, the parents do not look after them at all. The chicks must look after themselves. They can run and find food a few hours after they hatch and fly when only one day old.br /- Young roseate spoonbill birds stay in the nest for about six weeks. Both the parents care for them.br /- The white-toothed shrew (a very small animal like a mouse) takes her babies with her when they are seven days old. Each shrew holds on to the one in front so they are safe. They can look after themselves when they are three weeks old.br /br /br /br /br /br /script type=”text/javascript”!–br /google_ad_client = “pub-8909637401149473″;br //* 728×90, created 4/21/09 */br /google_ad_slot = “8719778040″;br /google_ad_width = 728;br /google_ad_height = 90;br ///–br //scriptbr /script type=”text/javascript”br /src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”br //script

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He is 43 years old and comes from st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Fujian/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Province/st1:placetype/st1:place ino:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”st1:place st=”on”st1:country-region st=”on”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”China/span/tt/st1:country-region/st1:placettspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”. But now he is in prison in st1:place st=”on”st1:country-region st=”on”Thailand/st1:country-region/st1:place. There he learnt that Jesus Christ loves him and he became a Christian. Here is his story:o:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttb style=”"span style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”LIFE SENTENCEo:p/o:p/span/b/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”In January 2000, the police arrested me in st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Bangkok/st1:place/st1:city, the capital city of st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Thailand/st1:place/st1:country-region, for carrying illegal drugs. The sentence I was given in the court was life imprisonment. But this was my second prison.o:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”All my life I worshipped idols and bad spirits. Fear had hold of me. I felt as if I was a prisoner in a dark place – my first prison.o:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttb style=”"span style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”HOPEo:p/o:p/span/b/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”When I was put in prison in st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Thailand/st1:place/st1:country-region, I was given a Bible, the Christian’s holy book. I began to read it. As I studied it, my life began to change. I read about Jesus Christ who came to bring freedom for the whole world. span style=”" /spano:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”He gives us hope in place of fear and despair. I realized that even in Bangkok Prison, my mind and spirit could be set free.o:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”I asked Jesus to change me and give me a new start with him as my friend. I learned that he was with me and that he even loves people who are in prison.o:p/o:p/span/tt/prepre style=”margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;”ttspan style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;”My body is still suffering because I have lost my freedom, but my spirit is not a prisoner any more. It is free and happy because Jesus Christ is now my friend and helper.o:p/o:p/span/tt/pre

p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 50pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(102, 51, 204);”WHAT IS AZPA?/span/bbspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”st1:place st=”on”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);”Africa/span/b/st1:placebspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);” Zero Poverty Association (AZPA) is a o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);”Non-Governmental Organization incorporated in st1:country-region st=”on”Nigeria/st1:country-region to combat, with a view to eliminating, poverty from st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place.o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”span style=”" /spano:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”OUR MOTIVATIONo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”We are driven by the graveness of the effects of the poverty pandemic in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place. By the fact that sub-Saharan st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place has been in decline for a quarter of a century:o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”That the other regions that around 1980 were characterized by low per capita income have on the average grown rapidly.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”That, while for instance, between 1981 and 2001 the number of people living in absolute poverty fell worldwide from 40% to 21% of the total population, in sub-Saharan Africa it increased from 42% to 47%: the world is moving forward in economic development, st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place is moving backward. This prompted UNIDO to in 2004 to declare bi“arresting and reversing economic decline in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place as the most vital development challenge today”/i/b. o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Realizing that the great obligation of ending the long haul of poverty in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place is the honourable responsibility of the generation, we accepted the difficult task in good faith./spanbspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”OUR VISIONo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”To end human misery and want in Africa/span/i/bbspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”OUR st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”MISSION/st1:place/st1:Cityo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”To make a statistically significant contribution to st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place’s achievement of GDP per capita growth of 6% and more till 2015./span/i/bbspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”OUR OBJECTIVESo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”The Africa Zero Poverty Association exists to: o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”a. span style=”" /spanCombat income and non-income poverty in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:placeo:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”b. span style=”" /spanAdvocate accountability and the rule of law in government as a poverty reduction strategy.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”c. span style=”" /spanAdvocate and press for the adoption of business friendly policies by the government as a way of fostering economic growth and employment expansion.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”d. span style=”" /spanFoster the growth and development of small and medium scale enterprises in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”e. span style=”" /spanCombat functional illiteracy in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place through human resource development programs.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”f. span style=”" /spanImprove the productivity of small holder farmer. o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 15pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”g.span style=”" /spanImprove income growth through financial mediation.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”CORE VALUESo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 20pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”1. Strong desire and deep commitment to making a significant contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”2. A determined focus on market principle, trade andspan style=”" /spandevelopment as a strategy for the actualization of the organization’s objectives.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”3. Sense of urgency about our desire to effect a change.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”4. A deep commitment to the principle of selflessness and to a boundless sense of sacrifice in the pursuit of our set objectives.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”5. An acceptance, as our exclusive responsibility, of the duty of eradicating poverty from st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”6. A commitment to the promotion of citizenship participation in government.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 18pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”7. High ethical standards, excellence and integrity in the conduct of our business.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”STRATEGIC PLANo:p/o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”SME CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” International opinion on poverty eradication was shifted to a functional approach which centres on household income and consumption expansion driven by increased employment generation rather than on welfare transfer. The emphasis is on the efficient development and utilization of productive capabilities in such a way that the working age population becomes more and more fully and productively employed. The UN MGDs stated that bi“achieving the income poverty goals depend more on trade and development”/i/b. However, since in developing countries, there is, due to the pervasive poverty, a lack of effective demand, trade and development is greatly constrained reinforcing the vicious cycle of poverty.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”It is in this regard that export promotion becomes crucial for any serious developing country poverty reduction strategy.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(191, 0, 191);”EXPORT-LED POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMESo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”UNITAD in 2004 declared that bi“it is very difficult to reduce poverty in an LDC if exports are not growing, or are growing very slowly, and if import capacity is severely constrained”/i/b. Very poor countries experience a number of interlocking domestic vicious circles that serve to perpetrate a circle of economic stagnation and mass poverty. Integration with the world economy through trade, investment, technology imports, financial flows and movement of people and ideas can greatly help countries to break out of these vicious circles.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”However, for export expansion to be able to reduce poverty, experts say, the real export growth must exceed 5% per annum. Secondly, it is believed that manufactures exporters have higher success rate at reducing poverty than commodity or mineral exporters.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Africa Zero Poverty Association (AZPA) adapted the ITC export-led poverty reduction programme as its key strategic policy. The EPEP has two main pillars:o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”a./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” The development of the entrepreneurial capacity of the poor withbio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spanregard to exporting.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”b./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Linking that capacity to proven export market opportunities.bio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”EPEP projects focus on five sectors based on analysis of demand in regional or international markets and the employment and income generation potential of these sectors. The sectors are:o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”1./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Agricultural products (fresh and processed)bio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”2./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Textiles (fibres and clothing)bio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”3./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Animal skin (leather and leather goods)bio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”4./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Light manufacturingbio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”5./span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Community-based tourism.bio:p/o:p/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”AZPA hence works with SMEs in these sectors with a view to helping them in:o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”1. Identifying winning products and growth markets -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Projects are selected on the basis of the growth potential of the product in question, and the existence of a stable demand for the product. An attempt is made to identify products that can mobilize dormant or underutilized production capacities by adapting them to the specifications of a clearly identified product-market demand.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”2. Product development, product adaptation, standards and quality -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” The products to be exported must be competitive in international markets and meet international product requirements. AZPA seeks co-operation with bigger organizations like ITC, NEPC, etc to help in providing technical assistance for this purpose, i.e. assistance in this stage could involve aiding producers in seeking ISO Certification, technological support in production and adaptation of the product to the market, or assistance in quality control and packaging. Other examples of assistance are aiding producers with trial orders before a large scale export order is made to identify and correct any potential problems.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”3. Selecting and organizing poor producers -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” AZPA has worked extensively in the area of ensuring they are organized in some form of co-operative to ensure they achieve a sufficient scale to produce, market and distribute their products. We are currently feverishly searching out ways of facilitating their training in marketing, producing and entrepreneurship.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”4. Selecting the right product markets for the producer organization – /span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”A key aspect is the ability of the productive organization (producers) to sustain production under competitive condition, as well as its ability to meet changing competitive demands. Attention is paid to the strength of the export in international markets.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”5. Linking producers to buyers -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” Another crucial element of the EPEP is the linking of Nigerian producers to international buyers. AZPA works to match-make Nigerian producers with international buyers.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”6. Finance and Credit -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” AZPA works in ensuring self-sufficient credit services for EPEP projects.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”7. Managerial Training -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” The development of appropriate managerial skills with a view to making poor producers self-sufficient in the long-run is a key issue addressed via training. AZPA seeks partnership with other organizations like NEPC to ensure this.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”8. Support Services -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” AZPA does a needs’ assessment at the onset of the project and carries it throughout the project to ensure every support needed is provided to ensure success.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”9. Gender -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” We encourage women participation.bo:p/o:p/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 38pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”10. Environment -/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;” We also encourage the production of environmentally friendly products./spanbspan style=”font-family: Bedrock; color: blue;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spano:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”b style=”"span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”ADVOCACYo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”In advocacy AZPA aims to stimulate the supply, by the government of st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Nigeria/st1:place/st1:country-region, of conditions conducive for economic growth, employment, household income and consumption expansion. The consensus in development economics is that basic infrastructure is sine quanon for economic development and poverty eradication. Hence the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) noted that “Meeting the imperious social needs in sub-Saharan Africa is actually a precondition of economic development: the inability to cross thresholds such as basic standards of healthcare, agric productivity and core infrastructure block the regions’ transaction to sustained growth”. This report went on to hinge any hope of success in poverty reduction on successes in supplying basic infrastructure. It noted this would deliver an effective GDP growth impulse of about 1.5 percent per year. o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Noting the importance of good governance for poverty reduction, we mainstreamed advocacy in our strategic plan.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 22pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(153, 0, 204);”THE CORRUPTION MENACE/span/bbspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spanCorruption is the albatross of our nation. The nation’s nemesis and its obituary. It has been the barrier to the effective mobilization of the nation’s resources – tax and revenue corruption – and also to the effective allocation and utilization of these resources embezzlement, graft, etc; drifting prized resources away from the activities that are necessary for our sustainable development.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spanA recent report noted that six Niger Delta Governors squandered a whooping five trillion naira between 1999 and 2007 with nothing to show for it. The roads and drainage infrastructure are still antiquarian, the taps dry, power unavailable, and their citizens miserable. Little wonder at the close of 2007 the EFCC said it has cases against 35 State Governors. In the statement, its former Chairman Malam Nuhu Ribadu, noted that bi“eighty percent of st1:country-region st=”on”Nigeria/st1:country-region’s money has gone to waste” /i/bover twelve billion dollars are taken off st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Nigeria/st1:place/st1:country-region’s coffers in theft every year.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spanFor this reason AZPA decided to start its advocacy work in the area of the war on corruption.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”span style=”" /spanAfter studying the nature and forms of corruption in st1:country-region st=”on”Nigeria/st1:country-region, we have come to the conclusion in concordance with Transparency International (TI) that immunity for senior political office holders is the chief policy-related cause of corruption in st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Nigeria/st1:place/st1:country-region.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Hence, we undertook the biWrite-Your-Rep/i/b Advocacy project focused on a demand for the removal of the immunity clause (section 308) from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(191, 0, 191);”BE A MEMBER…o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 16pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”AZPA is a membership NGO. The member is the foundation and pillar of the Association. Its membership is open to all Africans.o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 16pt;”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”span style=”" /span/span/i/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”We enjoin you to sign up for membership today and be a co-worker with God in the process of recreating a world where justice and equality shall prevail; where hunger, poverty and oppression shall be no more. No one can save st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place but Africans!o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”b style=”"span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”DONATEo:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 16pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”You can leave gifts in cheques, credit or debit cards, shares, experience, payroll giving otherwise.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Thank you for taking a moment to fill this form and helping to fight poverty with a cheque, credit or debit card. Your gift to help AZPA with its work all over st1:place st=”on”Africa/st1:place, supporting the poor to work their way out of poverty is appreciated./spanspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”bispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”o:p /o:p/span/i/b/p p class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial;”Mail us today at:br //span/b/pp class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial;”br //span/b/pp class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial;”www.a href=”mailto:azpanig@azepanig.org”span style=”color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;”azpanig@azepanig.org/span/ao:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial;”o:p /o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”buspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(153, 0, 204);”OFFICE ADDRESS/span/u/bbspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(153, 0, 204);”:/span/bbuspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”o:p/o:p/span/u/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”st1:street st=”on”st1:address st=”on”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”No. 255 Agbani Road/span/st1:address/st1:Streetspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”, o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Enugu/span/st1:place/st1:Cityspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”,o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”st1:country-region st=”on”st1:place st=”on”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”Nigeria/span/st1:place/st1:country-regionspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 18pt;”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”E-mail:/span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);” iazpanig@azepanig.org/i, iazpanig@yahoo.com/i/spanbspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”o:p/o:p/span/b/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”line-height: 14pt;”span style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”o:p /o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: red;”Tel: /span/bspan style=”font-family: Arial; color: black;”+234 (0)8065838656, 8030888245, 7089333922.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”bspan style=”font-family: Arial;”o:p /o:p/spanispan style=”font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);”o:pbr //o:p/span/i/bo:p /o:p/p