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Africa: Portraits of Poverty The United Nations has embraced an ambitious goal: halving poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, reducing infant and maternal mortality and providing universal primary education. Charlayne Hunter-Gault examines these problems and the challenges of easing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Africa: Portraits of Poverty

Charlayne Hunter-Gault examines the challenges of easing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Tanzania, Women See a Path Out of Poverty

In Africa, women remain among the poorest of the poor despite producing three-quarters of the continent's food. But in Tanzania, some women are trying to gain a foothold toward self-sufficiency.

In Tanzania, Women See a Path Out of Poverty

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In Africa, Overcoming the Risks of Childbirth

One out of every six children in Africa dies before the age of five. For African women, the chance of dying in childbirth is three times higher than in industrialized nations. Training caregivers and educating expectant mothers are among the solutions being tried to reverse those trends.

In Africa, Overcoming the Risks of Childbirth

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The Missed Education of African Girls

Girls remain woefully outnumbered in African schools. They make up nearly 60 percent of the children who should be in school but in fact don't attend. Part of the problem is economic, but much of the reason remains rooted in societies that undervalue girls and, in some cases, abuse them. These problems are prevalent in Malawi, but there's some progress as well.

The Missed Education of African Girls

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Land Ownership Elusive for South Africa's Poor

Advocates say ending the cycle of poverty in rural Africa depends on putting farmland in the hands of blacks. In South Africa, about 96 percent of commercial arable land is still in the hands of white farmers. But land reform efforts have been slow to get off the ground.

Land Ownership Elusive for South Africa's Poor

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