9781422283868

I NTRODUCTION S OCIAL P ROGRESS IN A FRICA : M IDDLE , W ESTERN , AND S OUTHERN O f the 54 countries in Africa, those in the middle, western, and southern regions have experienced more than their share of turmoil, civil wars, corruption, and disease. Each country has a rich and interesting history that has contributed to its current social progress. For example, Liberia began as a settlement in the early 19th century for freed American slaves. These early settlers valued their hard-won freedom and independence, and within 25 years they had established a republic. It is not surprising that Liberia received one of its strongest scores from the Social Progress Imperative on the Social Progress Index (SPI) in the category of Personal Rights. Whilemost of thesecountrieshavea republic formof government, somehave fought to convert to a constitutional democracy, while one, Lesotho, is a monarchy. In countries that have experienced civil war, many—sometimes thousands of people—havebeendisplaced,makingaccess tobasic shelter challenging. Diseases such as AIDS and Ebola have also taken their toll on people in these regions. However, each country continues to make progress in terms of social progress, especially in areas such as nutrition and access to medical care, which are measured by the SPI. Food security—a country’s ability to provide sufficient food to meet its population’s nutritional needs—is improving in many of these nations. In some, programs sponsored by UNICEF and similar governmental and nongovernmental organizations are contributing to advances in food security.

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S OCIAL P ROGRESS IN A FRICA : M IDDLE , W ESTERN , AND S OUTHERN