About 10 percent of infants die in their first year of life in Africa — still shockingly high, but considerably lower than the European average less than 100 years ago, let alone 800 years past. And about two thirds of Africans are literate — a level achieved in Spain only in the 1920s.
This reminded me of a most hopeful and wonderful clip by Hans Rosling at TED. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Rosling’s work, watch his lectures, you’ll be simply blown away:
And if you want to consider how there needs to be a complex interaction between markets, government aide, and micro-finance (if you’re not on Kiva.org, it’s the best $25 you’ll spend) to further grow Africa, wind this clip about 60 seconds and you’ll get a great visual from Hans.