Background
- Introduction
- Challenges to Prosperity
- HIV/AIDS Crisis in Southern Africa
CHALLENGES TO PROSPERITY
Southern Africa is struggling to emerge from a history of apartheid, minority white rule, and post-colonial wars. An extremely diverse region, it has both the largest economy on the continent (South Africa) and some of the poorest countries in the world.
HIV/AIDS is taking a devastating toll on the region. According to 2002 figures from UNAIDS, the infection rate in Mozambique for 15-49 year olds is 12 percent; South Africa is closer to 20 percent; and Zimbabwe is 33 percent. As a result, millions of children lose their parents and must fend for themselves.
Women in southern Africa are particularly vulnerable to poverty and the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Female-headed households represent a disproportionately large share of the poorest in the region, and some laws in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa—which have not changed very much since the end of the colonial era—are biased against women. This inequality constrains women in the inheritance of land and other property, as well as in marriage and divorce. Unequal access to education has left many women illiterate and unaware of their rights.