Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa is an endlessly revolving door of policy challenges and changes for the United States and other global leaders. Many of the countries in the region gained independence during the 1960s, and development, health, and government organization have been slow in terms of reaching global standards. The area is prone to diseases such as Malaria, HIV, and Ebola, although significant progress has been made in decreasing the number of cases of each of these. Economically, the region has been growing rapidly in recent years, giving hope for a more democratic, stable, and prosperous future. However, that quick growth has created an outstanding disproportional distribution of wealth, which has perpetuated instability and terrorism throughout the region. Current U.S. Policy toward the region is very loosely worded and somewhat dated- but with one year left under the Obama Administration a new plan shouldn’t be expected. The U.S. has put a considerable amount of effort into developing Africa, specifically through Power Africa and financially supporting the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the UN. Overall, the current policy is reasonably vague when addressing the region, which is inarguably a strength; as the region continues to grow and develop the policy needs change. However, it is this …show more content…
Liberia and Sierra Leone have both been declared Ebola free, but Liberia lost this designation just three months after obtaining it. Ebola was a major concern for U.S. Citizens, clearly making it something to watch and pushing update travel warnings when needed. During the peak of the outbreak in 2014, tension was high and fear spread throughout America. Not only is it important to keep Ebola contained from a global health perspective, but U.S. Citizens may lose faith in the government if an outbreak spreads to