Out of Africa

According to the United Nations, millennium goals for the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are far off track—and when it comes to Africa the need is great and the prospects for moving forward are dim. None of the goals, which include a 50 percent reduction in extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education; promotion of gender equality; reduction of child mortality by two-thirds; cutbacks in maternal mortality by three-quarters; combating the spread of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a North-South global partnership for development are likely to be met in Africa, a United Nations study concluded.

Should we become the United States of Africa?

And even if we should, are we ready?

Africans, that’s who!

“Their good work ethic, focus and a drive to succeed that is honed by the limited socioeconomic opportunities in their native African countries.”

This is one of the main reasons that makes African immigrants so successful in the United States and elsewhere throughout the Diaspora, according to this article.

The professor cited in the story spent six years researching how Africans were incorporated into the U.S. society, discovering that overall, African immigrants not only perform better in education and employment than other immigrants, but also than the rest of the U.S. population in the same areas.

How cool is that?

The research also tried to correlate country of origin as a factor determining higher chance at success. Immigrants from English-speaking countries are more prepared, while immigrants from countries like Somalia, where many come as refugees, are less prepared.

Not so sure how the research was conducted, and am interested in finding out more about the results. But, the article is written for a student publication so it’s not very detailed.

How accurate do you think this research is?