Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

The Ravaging of Africa, Part 2 -- Economic War
Bill Quigley
16 Jan 2008
🖨️ Print Article
Written by Asad Ismi and produced by Kristin Schwatrz    
 
The Ravaging of Africa is a four part audio documentary series about the destructive impact of US imperialism on the continent.
 economic_war9
The ravaging of Africa has been enriching Europe and North America for more than 500 years.  The second of four episodes of this audio documentary focuses on the role of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  Through these institutions structural adjustment polices have been imposed upon African nations forcing them to end free education, to curtail health services, and sell the national wealth to privatizers at bargain basement rates, resulting in pandemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  
 
The destruction of health and educational infrastructure caused by these "reforms" has led to 21 million deaths from preventable disease and malnutrition since the mid 1980s.   More than 200 million Africans have absolutely no access to health care services.  Forty percent of Africa's children are out of school and more than 140 million young Africans are illiterate, all thanks to "structural adjustment".
To listen to the entire 30 minutes of "Economic War on Africa" click the flash player below.
 
{mp3}ravaging_of_africa/economic_war{/mp3} 
Credits 
 Written by Asad Ismi 
 Produced by Kristin Schwartz 
 Translation by Maziar Mohajir at Toronto Conversation Corner & Farid Omar 
 Voice-over by Benedicta Madawo 
This production was funded by Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3903 CUPE National Canadian Union of Postal Workers National CUPW North Bay Local
Canadian Labour Congress
Public Service Alliance of Canada
Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation
Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
MiningWatch Canada
Ontario Public Interest Research Group (Univ. of Toronto)
CHRY 105.5 fm Toronto
Continuing Education Students Association of Ryerson
50 Years is Enough (Washington, DC)
Fair Trade Clothing Co-op (www.fairtradeclothing.ca)
Charles Roach
   

Broadcast-quality copies of all four episodes of The Ravaging of Africa can be downloaded from www.radio4all.net, where a large and constantly updated library of free, broadcast quality audio is maintained.  Click here to download this and the episodes of this documentary. 

 
To listen to episode 1 of The Ravaging of Africa -- Militarizing Africa, click here.
To listen to episode 3 of  The Ravaging of  Africa -- Corporate Plunder, click here. 

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Kagame Regime Must Not Be Allowed to Seize the Archives of the ICTR
    08 Jul 2026
    The records of the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda should not be surrendered to the Rwandan regime led by President Paul Kagame.
  • Navid Zarrinnal
    The Iranian Revolution and African Solidarity
    08 Jul 2026
    Iran's 1979 revolution was a victory for national sovereignty which also forged solidarity with African people.
  • Hanna Eid
    Sovereignty and Strategic Depth
    08 Jul 2026
    The U.S. and Israel treat negotiations as a weapon to destabilize and disarm the region, but Iran and Hezbollah have shown that real sovereignty requires connecting every front in a unified anti-…
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Detroit People’s Tribunal Takes Mask off ICE
    08 Jul 2026
    Activists gathered from various areas of Michigan to report on the excesses and brutality of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and local police, which…
  • Booker Omole
    Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s Legacy Will Outlive US Imperialism
    08 Jul 2026
    Statement on the Funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei by the General Secretary, Booker Omole, Communist Party Marxist Kenya.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us