Sanitation is an issue of significant concern in the African continent. The matter is a pressing issue since the World Health Organization reports that about 2.5 billion people in the developing nations lack access to basic sanitation (Septien).

The issue of sanitation can spur a change in innovation in sciences and technology since it creates a lot of opportunities for scientific innovations. Significant health and environmental factors face the situation surrounding the lack of access to sanitation. The cost of constructing and operating waters and waste treatment is high in developing African nations and therefore unaffordable. The use of too much energy in the operations of such plants is not favorable to the environment. Thus, sanitation impacts innovation in sciences and technology by necessitating the development of innovative solutions which create basic sanitation units. The innovation of low costs solutions in Africa leads to scientific development as sustainable practices that allow treatment and disposal of waste without incurring huge costs.

Present and future impact of the sanitation issue is that the innovation it generates will eventually solve many social and environmental factors. By creating cleaner environments, the health of people living in Africa will improve and therefore enabling them to engage in other developmental activities.

Food Security/Insecurity in Africa is an interesting matter in the continent because a huge population is affected by starvation. The impact of food insecurity on the continent is devastating as it affects health and development in children (Siba, and Signé). Malnutrition is another issue that accompanies food insecurity and therefore making it a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.

The most relevant theme to food insecurity in Africa is innovation in sciences and technology. The issue affects this theme since it leads to the development of innovative methods to grow food to feed the hungry population. As funds to grow a variety of foods that can feed the nations may be unavailable, researchers are forced to genetically engineered foods that have a greater nutritional value to supplement the foods that the population may be lacking. The issue also impacts technology as farmers are forced to employ technology to enable them to grow a lot of food for the high population. Through technology, farmers can conduct intensive farming which produces enough food supply. As such, the issue leads to the development of technology which is used to increase food production.

Future and present impact of the issue is that it may lead to an increase in genetically engineered food in an attempt to decrease malnutrition during starvation. Additionally, Africa will tend to rise in food production if current technology is applied continuously in farming. At the moment food insecurity impacts a lot of policies formulated within the African region which aim at growing the food sector.

Elections in Africa countries are becoming a pressing issue as they lead to political changes which may be unstable. Elections on a democratic basis are under constant test in Africa as political instability is often observed in many countries during political times.

A theme that is impacted by the issue is political and legal change since politics are at the core of elections. Through elections, the political environment in a country is likely to undergo changes which may promote the growth of the country, or they may be detrimental. Wars often break out in Africa after the election of leaders that maybe face strong opposition and rejection. International actors are often involved in African elections, the purpose of these actors is mainly to promote democracy, but at times they may impact the legal process of the country especially when they have a personal interest (Stremlau). The elections in Africa tend to influence a lot of political and legal change because of the many actors who may have a political interest.

The present and future impact of elections in Africa are that with increased mediation from other actors, and the development of civic education, elections in Africa will be more peaceful. The adoption and practice of democracy are also going to be prevalent and political stability in many countries will prevail.

Poverty in African countries is a pressing issue given that the highest population of people living in poverty is in Africa. In 2015, the World Bank reported that 413 million poor people live in sub-Saharan Africa (Patel). Given the high number of poor people in the region, there is a need to urgently resolve the problem since poverty is accompanied by many health, social and political problems.

Poverty impacts economic change and innovation in business. With poverty, it is impossible to drive economic activities as the population cannot raise enough capital to engage in profitable economic activities. Poverty prevents societies from engaging in productive activities due to lack of resources. However, innovative business ideas are generated through poverty as people seek to meet the needs of a population using limited resources. Nevertheless, this may be detrimental to economic growth as the rate of business development may be low because people seek low-cost products which may not meet standards.

The present impact of poverty in Africa is tremendous as it affects many areas of social life. In the presence of poverty, children do not go to school, and this leads to increasing illiteracy levels in African countries. The health of citizens is adversely affected as most people cannot afford quality care consequently, poor health leads to unproductivity which continues to propel the poverty cycle.

Health Care in Africa is a pressing issue given the disease burden that lies on the continent. One-quarter of the worldwide disease burden is bored by Africa, but on the contrary, the continent only has 2% of the global doctors. Therefore healthcare is an issue of great concern given the gap between the needs and resources necessary to solve the problem.

The issue has spurred changes in innovation in sciences and technology since the need to deliver healthcare with limited resources drives the development of innovative ideas. Healthcare is a critical issue, and it is a necessity that cannot be ignored despite the constraints involved in providing the services. As such, innovation leads to the development of healthcare centers that employ technology to deliver services to the vast population. Mobile healthcare and community-based healthcare programs are some of the developments that surround healthcare delivery in Africa. Additionally, advanced technology is becoming a necessity in Africa as the number of chronic diseases burden increases. Hence the needs created by healthcare issues in Africa necessitate innovation and scientific development in the countries.

The present impact of health care issues in Africa is an increased economic burden on the government as they strive to provide healthcare services to a large population. With an increase in scientific innovations in healthcare, the disease burden on Africa is likely to decrease in the future.

Works Cited

Jimenez, Joseph. “3 Ways To Improve Healthcare In Africa”. World Economic Forum, 2015, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/01/3-ways-to-improve-healthcare-in-africa/.

Patel, Nirav. “Figure Of The Week: Understanding Poverty In Africa.” Brookings, 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2018/11/21/figure-of-the-week-understanding-poverty-in-africa/.

Septien, Santiago. “How Do We Solve Africa’S Sanitation Problems?”. World Economic Forum, 2019, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/08/how-do-we-solve-africas-sanitation-problems/.

Siba, Eyerusalem, and Landry Signé. “Four Things You Should Know About Food Security In Africa.” The Washington Post, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/10/30/four-things-you-should-know-about-food-security-in-africa/?utm_term=.c82023d51918. Accessed 14 Mar 2019.

Stremlau, John. “With A Dozen Elections In 2019, African Democracy Will Face Some Of Its Biggest Tests”. Quartz Africa, 2018, https://qz.com/africa/1482167/africa-elections-2019-african-democracy-gets-big-test/.