Summary
Despite the level of development of technology and society, modern Africa is not much different from its historical copy. This stage of development is a locality in which numerous social problems are particularly acute. Thus, the population is forced to live in frightening conditions, including the economy, minimal sanitation, or security. Demographic problems, early marriage, poverty, illness, and poor education are widespread. The fight against these problems is paramount for the Government, and measures should be applied promptly to achieve effective results.
It is worth noting that in such economically unequal conditions, most states in the region simply do not have the necessary vital resources to conduct an active social policy. Negative consequences were also caused by the fact that for a long time, the achievement of economic development was considered a self-sufficient goal capable of thoroughly transforming the social sphere of society. This mindset has led to the accumulation of social problems in the region.
The world economic system for West Africa is of no minor importance, which is contradictory and uneven. On the one hand, the process of economic globalization is taking place more and more actively, accelerating the social development of many regions of the world. On the other hand, large-scale pockets of backwardness remain, which can provoke new regional conflicts and generate new threats to the health and well-being of the population. One of such foci is Ivory Coast in West Africa. This region is distinguished by the diversity and scale of social problems. Here, negative patterns in the field of the population are combined with appalling poverty, large income inequality, a highly unfavorable situation in health care, education, and high unemployment.
Nowadays, Ivory Cost is facing numerous social and economic challenges. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and hurts increasing environmental pressures. Among all the problems, three main issues of the western region can be distinguished. The first is the continuing deterioration of the economic situation, which directly impacts the level of poverty because the population’s standard of living directly depends on the state of natural resources. The following reason can be considered uncontrolled population growth and, at the same time, young mortality. This factor leads to the expansion and strengthening of anthropogenic load. The low level of social security, which reduces the possibility of implementing measures for the country’s sustainable development, can be considered a third factor. From these factors, other more severe problems arise, the solution of which is critical.
Poverty and Unemployment
The unstable economic situation influences the problem of poverty and unemployment in Ivory Cost. Currently, more than half of the population in the country does not have stable employment and social protection. Stagnation in the country’s economy reflects economic difficulties and difficulties in the labor market. Moreover, it points to an increase in the subsistence minimum and the lack of public investment and interest in the social problems of the population.
Demographic and economic factors determine the high level of poverty in the country. Inefficient and weak financial state policy is reflected in the inability to provide the necessary services to the population. In addition, the government has a high cost of services such as education or healthcare. The difficulties of the economy of the western region of Africa are associated with low levels of education, institutional weakness, and poor governance.
Several measures can be taken to solve the problems of poverty and unemployment. First, it is necessary to reduce regional inequality and adjust the population distribution across the country. To reduce the rate of population growth, which may cause these problems, the involvement of family planning and immigration management programs is needed. Makaringe and Khobai (2018) highlight that “different initiatives have been developed to counterbalance this problem and an effective response comes in the form of entrepreneurship education” (p. 1). In management decisions, the State and the authorized bodies must ensure that all citizens comply with the law on rural lands to stimulate sustainable agriculture and avoid unemployment.
Moreover, government agencies can focus their activities on creating the following measures to combat unemployment:
- Stimulating employment growth, increasing the number of jobs through the use of preferential taxation, lending, and compensation in one way or another for investments in the development of new jobs or losses from their preservation;
- Expansion of forms, spheres, and conditions of professional training of employees;
- Permission of labor emigration.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop communities through decentralization. The organization of funds to help the population of Ivory Coast is a very important aspect of the approach to solving serious problems. Moreover, it can attract more supporters of this kind of charitable movement. Attracting new funding sources to these new aid organizations is also of particular value.
Diseases
The issue of health is particularly acute in West Africa. This is primarily due to the insufficient number of qualified personnel and medicines. Moreover, there are not enough hospitals and residents in the country with sufficient basic health knowledge. This information should include information about contraception and sanitary and hygienic standards. The main causes of death in the country are diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory diseases, measles, malaria, and complications during childbirth and postpartum (Ritchie & Roser, 2018). Often the severity of the disease is caused by malnutrition. It is worth noting that the high incidence and low level of public health also affect cardiovascular, mental, and oncological diseases. Moreover, there is a negative impact on environmental pollution and growing industrial injuries.
To reduce the incidence rate in the country, it is necessary to change and focus on socio-economic and political development. Measures in this area should be aimed at the effective use of the resources available in the country, as well as improving the work of medical services. This may include the involvement of third-party specialists to train and assist in the work of medical personnel. Furthermore, additional management bodies for medical care in the hospital may be approved. Moreover, it is necessary to increase the state’s role through not only the introduction of new measures but also in the financing and management of medical care, sanitary and anti-epidemic work. Providing the population access to basic medical services is the main task of implementing all measures. The provision of high-quality services will contribute to improving the health of the country.
Early, Arranged and Forced Marriages and Female Circumcision
Despite the development and spread of human rights, equality, and technological progress, some parts of the planet continue to live in the cruel world of ancient traditions. In such places, girls are forced to marry before reaching the age of majority and undergo deadly and useless surgical operations (Parkin, 2021). Despite its apparent anti-naturalness, such a tradition as early arranged and forced marriages has its reasons. These include a high turnover of the population and an unequal ratio of men and women, avoiding unnecessary costs for feeding a family member and tabooing premarital relationships, and mandatory virginity of the bride.
Female circumcision in modern society is perceived as a terrible outdated tradition of underdeveloped peoples. It consists of the partial or complete removal of the female external genitalia, carried out without medical reasons (Skinner, 2019). Unlike male circumcision, this procedure has no positive consequences. It aims entirely at subjugating sexuality because of religion and faith (Birge & Serin, 2019). For girls who have survived this operation, not only will scars remain, but infertility may also develop as a consequence. If a woman manages to get pregnant, childbirth will be extremely difficult.
Urgent actions of the country’s government are needed to solve these problems. These aspects emerge due to economic, political, and economic factors. To avoid their frequent occurrence, it is necessary to apply policies to increase jobs and reduce poverty. In addition, it is important to educate the population on the topic of family and marriage. It should also include information about the dangers of female castration and how harmful this procedure can be to the health of young girls.
Prostitution and Sex-Trafficking
Like many other countries, Ivory Coast in West Africa still cannot get rid of the legacy of the slave trade. The main way of such trade is now becoming children from crisis regions or women selling themselves. Most often, underage boys and girls are acquired for menial work and sexual exploitation (Irabor, 2019). Even though the fight against this phenomenon is also underway at the international level, this problem is still relevant in Africa.
It should be emphasized that it is necessary to deal not with the consequences but the causes of these problems. It is necessary to involve in the work of various state security agencies for the search and trial of people engaged in child sex trafficking. Moreover, social work with the population is of particular value. It is important to conduct specialized training on the harm and consequences that can be caused by prostitution. On the part of the state, work is needed to increase the level and quality of people’s lives so that they do not have a desire to turn to this kind of activity.
Young Adult Mortality, Low Life-Expectancy, and Malnutrition
One of the causes of early mortality in the country is malnutrition. Research has shown that several tens of millions of children do not receive enough food. Bhutta et al. (2017) emphasized that “the main forms of childhood malnutrition occur predominantly in children under five years of age living in low-income and middle-income countries and include stunting, wasting and kwashiorkor” (p. 1). The nutrition of nine out of ten African children does not meet the criteria of a minimum acceptable diet. Even though there is a tendency to improve the situation in the world, the problem is getting worse in some regions of Africa.
First, a combination of the state’s political, economic, and social actions is necessary. The value is a well-developed management strategy and economically justified actions. Popoola (2018) states that “population growth could granger cause low life expectancy” (p. 30). The main demographic aspect of the country is the rapid population growth. Thus, the population has grown almost two hundred percent over the past few decades (Gunn & Conant, 2017). The high population growth rates of the Ivory Coast are associated with significant natural and mechanical growth. However, according to the first indicator, there has been a decline in recent years. To solve the problem of lack of food, the organization of charitable foundations for people who do not have enough money to live can become. Furthermore, to solve this problem, many jobs can be created, providing the income for the population to buy food.
Poor Education
The crisis associated with various military conflicts in African countries caused the displacement of the educated part of the population, including teachers and health workers, to the country’s south. Thus, the population’s access to education and healthcare has significantly decreased, lowering the educational opportunities for others. This process of changing social and economic systems has led to an increase in the level of poverty of the population.
Thus, for the Ivory Coast in the west of the country, one of the most urgent tasks is increasing the population’s educational level. The possibility of getting an education largely depends on the well-being of children even before they enter school. However, problems such as hunger and poor health care hurt education on a global scale. By the time such children come to school, insufficient nutrition reduces their ability to learn, and they will have to face this problem in adulthood.
The education of the country’s younger population plays an important role in overcoming social, economic, and linguistic difficulties. Thus, it is critical to note that Africa needs to revise its educational systems. This is because compulsory primary education has been introduced only in a few parts of the country. The situation is even worse with secondary education: a minimum number of young people in most African countries acquire secondary education. Moreover, young Africans who have become students rarely specialize in science or technology. Of particular value is the revision of the concept of education and the restructuring of neglected systems and structures. This can be achieved by attracting specialists who can move the knowledge transfer system from its place. Education should serve a specific purpose, which the state should determine.
In Africa, almost all global problems of humanity are very acute. Among them are poverty, unemployment, early marriages, malnutrition, and low level of education and healthcare. Addressing these population hazards is of critical importance. The introduction of specialized programs, the inclusion of specialists in various fields in the process, and the active measures of the state aimed at practical and self-directed actions are the preferred solutions to these problems.
References
Bhutta, Z. A., Berkley, J. A., Bandsma, R. H., Kerac, M., Trehan, I., & Briend, A. (2017). Severe childhood malnutrition. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 3(1), 1-18.
Birge, Ö. & Serin, A. N. (2019). The relationship between female circumcision and religion. Circumcision and the Community.
Gunn, H., & Conant, F. P. (2017). Peoples of the middle Niger region Northern Nigeria: Western Africa part XV. Routledge.
Irabor, D. (2019). Trafficking in humans in Nigeria: A major socio-cultural problem. Journal of Advances in Social Science and Humanities, 5(7), 896-926.
Makaringe, S. C., & Khobai, H. (2018). The effect of unemployment on economic growth in South Africa (1994-2016). International Journal of Business and Globalization, 23(3).
Parkin, R. (2021). Arranged marriages: Whose choice and why? Reflections on the principles underlying spouse selection worldwide. History and Anthropology, 32(2), 271-287.
Popoola, O. T. (2018). Population growth and life expectancy in Nigeria: Issues and further considerations. Humanities and Social Science Research, 1(1).
Skinner, E. P. (2019). Female circumcision in Africa: The dialectics of equality. Routledge.