Poverty and Infertility in Africa: Medical Evidence versus Divine Providence

Except there is national fuel scarcity, going from Monatan to Iyana Church in Ibadan will cost you just twenty naira hence we rarely witness drama between commuters and conductors on buses plying the route. But on this fateful Monday morning, I was left tongue drooped and speechless when a woman expertly arranged four kids on a seat meant for one, and had two more on her lap. Even the blood red eyed conductor couldn’t utter a statement. We didn’t know which is more baffling – her genius ideation as a result of her inability to pay for more seats that would make her kids sit more comfortable, or God’s unusual benevolence to this thirty something years old lady who already has six kids

As the Bible rightly refers to children as the “heritage of God,” being blessed with the fruit of the womb is often the defining moment in the lives of married couples. Except in the developed world where many now choose to marry without giving birth to children, having babies is the major reason why many marry. In Africa, barrenness is the worst thing that can ever happen to a happily married couple. Various African cultures have different views to barrenness and none of them is desirable.

The childless woman goes through deep sorrows in African society and there are numerous proverbs to that effect, one of them is: “the woman whose sons have died is richer than a barren woman." In Ghana, here and elsewhere, parental blessings often run along the lines of: "May you bear children like bees; May you bear children like calabash seeds…" Although today's economic and educational pressures will force a change in these sentiments, they further validate the assertion that being fertile is a major prerequisite for happy marriage.

But not everyone is fertile. In the United States, more than five million Americans, both men and women, have problems with infertility. But unlike what we still battle with here, American couples generally open up to each other, they talk to their medical experts on time to remove the risk factors, and are fairly financially stable to afford recommended medical procedures and lifestyle changes which could be diet-related, hormone dependent, or entail treating underlying ailments and speedily addressing inappropriate drug dosage and usage. They also have the adoption option when nothing works.

Poor_womanHere however, many actions and traditions form synergy with the underlying cause(s) of infertility thus making life more unbearable for the worried couple. One of such is faith.

As a highly religious nation, most barren couples here wait on God before booking a gynaecology appointment. Just like Hannah in the Bible, Nigerian barren couples patiently await God’s appointed time. They pray. They are anointed. They sow seeds. They make vows. And they go for countless deliverance sessions. They believe the weapons for their warfare (with barrenness) are not, as the Bible puts it, carnal, thus leaving out the fact that sometimes, a simple health tip could answer their prayer points. However, God is not on the hot seat, neither is the efficacy of prayers in addressing infertility issues facing Nigerian couples the focus of this article. We are concerning ourselves with what looks like an anomaly – an aberration and deviation from the norm we are familiar with on this part of existence where the rich has it all.

I remember being on a research team that studied the correlation between the low standard of living of the poor people living in an overcrowded area in a remote part of Ibadan and the high incidence of cholera outbreaks in the area. Apart from evident malnourishment, we had so many children around us. We had an average of about twenty children per house unlike that of three children per house in a government residential area (GRA) in the same city while understudying the rich community. I know many factors apart from fertility are responsible for this very wide margin. For instance, we have to factor in the cost of birth control methods (though cheap, many poor people would prefer to buy two cups of garri instead of latex condoms) and illiteracy. Many rich men also have many wives that are blessed with many children, hence broadly saying that only the poor are fertile would be very wrong.

But as a medical scientist working in a government hospital, I know that poor pregnant women attending antenatal clinics outnumber the nouveau riches with bundles of joy (fetuses) growing in them many times over. On average, I attend to about fifty pregnant women daily out of which less than ten could be said to be well educated. I had the notion that I was the only sharing the view until a colleague pointed out similar concerns. This sent me to the medical library to unearth the mystery behind poverty-induced fertility and what those in search of the fruit of the womb can learn from Nigeria’s less privileged yet divinely blessed families.

Though there is extensive disagreement in medical science concerning the specific age range, the most fertile female years are in the twenties and fertility starts to decline for women from about the age of 30, dropping down more steeply from 35. As a woman grows older, the likelihood of getting pregnant falls while the probability of infertility rises. For a career lady who has bagged her bachelor’s degree, running her masters programme and thinking of starting a PhD programme before settling down to raise beautiful kids, she would have gone down the steep infertility slope. But the seventeen years old illiterate girl selling banana at the motor park has all the time in the world to raise kids with the dark tall lanky bus driver she secretly admires.

Unlike in ladies, age is not really a fertility factor for men. Even in Nigeria, we’ve had reports of octogenarians impregnating women of all ages. However, obesity, heavy coffee consumption, medications and busy sex schedules have all been associated with male infertility.

Nigeria’s successful male bankers can afford to buy air-conditioned cars to move from one place to another. They don’t sweat. They expend few calories hence the excess is accumulated and ultimately lead to obesity when left unchecked. From an erection stand point, anything that's good for the heart is good for the penis. Too much saturated fat can, over time, clog arteries and, in doing so, prevent an adequate flow of blood from reaching the genital region. This not only interferes with the ability to “perform”, but also with sexual pleasure, semen production and transportation thus resulting in secondary infertility.

But a man struggling with poverty rarely struggles with obesity and excess saturated fat. Unlike those that accumulate calories they don’t use, a poor man has less than enough food for his digestive system to breakdown. His arteries are not clogged, there is adequate blood flow to his genital region and no excess fat is interfering with his sperm production hence he is fertile except he’s into alcoholism or heavily smokes tobacco and marijuana which are even expensive!

Libido, quality and frequency of sex also go a long way in determining an individual’s fertility status. Fertility experts often recommend that couples should consistently have sex two or three times a week because for healthy couples who want to conceive, there's no such thing as too much sex. For most poor couples, this is all it takes. But for the rich busy business-minded couple, the secretaries will have to cancel lots of appointments for their oga and madam to make love.

The fertility conundrum is not totally against the rich. It’s been documented that they have easier access to fertility experts to sort out what the problem really is. While most poor couples beseech churches, mosques and traditional healing homes in search of the fruit of the womb, their rich fellow baby seekers often book appointments at gynaecology clinics and IVF centers like the popular Nordica Fertility Centre in Lagos which might cost fortunes. Also, couples with fatter bank accounts and better living conditions often have it easier with the child welfare department when considering adoption; and when they finally get the much sought after child, they go to any length to shower such kids with love; something that is resource-limited in a relationship where the couple can barely afford to put food on the table.

In our nation, the financial strengths, economic might and social statuses of men and women can determine who is barren, and whose children outnumber the stars in the sky. Furthermore, these dividing factors also suggest the course of actions to take.

Men and women in cash-trapped relationships are advised to marry as early as possible and start the process of conception before age-induced infertility sets in. And for the rich in the society who are thinking of building many mansions, bagging emeritus professorship and touring the world before walking down the aisle, there is the need for them to set up a fertility trust fund, fight obesity with [un]holy anger, guard against illicit sex life, treat all infections, and go for regular medical examinations to determine their fertility statuses.

In many developed countries of the world, men and women now operate savings accounts in a very special kind of bank where semen and eggs are the accepted fixed deposits. I know few of such banks are springing up in Nigeria, but the cost of opening and operating such account is quite expensive – very expensive for some rich people in the society hence there is the need for government’s involvement. Government’s involvement could help lower the cost which is currently running into several hundreds of thousands of naira monthly. The government can establish fertility centers, eggs and sperm banks across the nation. There is the growing need to regulate the activities of existing fertility facilities to determine and ascertain the safety, efficacy and potency of stored eggs and semen.

Whether natural or artificial, nature and man are creating solutions to the most dreaded nightmare of African couples. For ages, infertility has been the major cause of unhappy marriages and lack of information on what to do, who to talk to, how and when to act are not just prolonging the unhappy days but without quick interventions, not doing the right thing on time could make any intervention at a later date a futile effort.

Medical researchers have provided new expensive methods and insights into cheap lifestyle changes that can help every baby lover. Whether it’s an improvement in sex life using Viagra, eating baby-friendly diets like soy, staying off tobacco and marijuana, or just studying the ovulation calendar, combating infertility is a resource intensive, time dependent, psychologically challenging and socially intimidating process. But the good news is that whether you are poor or rich, there is something you can do apart from waiting on the Lord. That, I think, is what the baby wants to see before choosing to come to you.

Adepoju Paul Olusegun - adepojupaul@gmail.com

The Prison Called Memory

Most of us have the urge to always want to please others. We do not like to say no to their requests, and yet that can create some difficult situations in which they take on more than they can handle.
Being agreeable to almost everyone sometimes leads to doing dishonest things and breaking some rules and important principles. It is only after a bit of suffering, and may be some growing up, that we learn to set priorities, saying “yes” when possible and saying “no” when things are not possible or even wrong. When the going was good, we tend to always pattern our behaviours to that of the “good person” we think that we are.
My wife picked up a young beautiful girl who was actually running away from home. At the age of six, according to her, she had severally been abused sexually by people who were supposed to give her the protection that she needed at that tender age. Her supposed uncles and neighbours took advantage of her vulnerability to assault her sexually. Each time this happens they will send gift items to her poor parents and they, thinking they are being nicer, kept sending her to the homes of her molesters as a casual house-help.
For the next five years she had lived in a prison of shame, fear, false guilt, and confusion. This made her to always pull back or try to freeze each time her parents tried to show their affection either with a simple hug or through any other way. She could not help but hate herself. She was living in a prison called “memory”.
Memory is that faculty that enables all of us to relive yesterday. That means you can be hurt everyday of your life if you can’t forget! To forget a matter is not to deny that it never occurred or happened, but to anesthetize the hurt, so that the memory is now surrounded by peace, not pain. To forget a matter always comes as a result of forgiveness. When we forgive an offence, it means that healing has taken place, so that the injury done is gone, even though the scar remains. To find out if actually you have forgiven and forgotten an issue, is when you longer feel hurt or develop the urge to retaliate, each time you look at the scar or the blemish that was left behind.
However, as you look at the scar, instead of fretting, you develop an inward joy that often causes you to smile, laugh or tend to encourage another person. This is what God meant when He says that He’ll forgive us. Yet so many people don’t feel forgiven and therefore they conclude that they must not be forgiven. Also our wrong concept about God makes it difficult for us to forget what God has forgiven. When we keep thinking that we can find fellowship with God, drawing on His forgiveness and amazing love while setting our own boundaries within the relationship, we succeed only in walking on the path that leads to no where.
When my wife brought home that young girl, she broke down, sobbing and had her head buried in her hands because of shame. She was too ashamed to relate her ordeal, but when she did, she help, hope and joy. So many people today are living in this same prison called “memory”, thinking that their own lives would no longer have meanings for them. That’s a big lie! God is still in the business of healing and mending broken hearts. When you make yourself available, He will actually send someone to help you, and put smiles on your face again. The young girl in my house was misled and her life almost put to jeopardy by her parents’ belief in pleasing almost every body around, not minding the implication. Thank God that today, through the mercy and love of God, so many mistakes have been corrected. This tells you that you are not alone, don’t remain and die in your own prison, you too can forgive and be forgiven!

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY - STAND TALL!

DO PICTURES TELL T H E TRUTH?"
"Was it really like that?" we ask when we see a picture or photograph. Often there are pictures of Jesus (Isa Masih) in Bibles or storybooks that show him as a white man with blue eyes.
Of course, there were no cameras at the time when Jesus lived, so no-one knows what he looked like, or the exact colour of his skin. But we can be sure that because he was a man from the Middle East, he had dark skin and brown eyes.

BORN IN ASIA, LIVED IN AFRICA
Jesus was born in Asia, in the country then called Palestine. When he was a child, his family became refugees in an African country. They had to escape because their lives were in danger from a dictator - the cruel ruler of their country. Jesus was not a European, he never even visited Europe!
*Ancestors of his people came from different tribes and countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
So Christianity did not start in any Western country. Groups of Christians were meeting to worship God in many parts of Africa and India only a few years after Jesus died. Many people living in China, Mongolia and Japan 800 years ago believed in Jesus.
Europe is a place where people have turned away from God. There are many more followers of Jesus in Africa and Asia than in Europe.

DOES IT MATTER?
So does it matter what colour Jesus was? The Bible says that he was a person like us, except that he never did anything wrong. So if we make pictures of him, it is good to show him as a person from our country – even wearing the sort of clothes that our people wear. A picture that shows Jesus like this is telling something true. It is saying to us that Jesus can be a friend, a brother, a part of our family. It shows that he understands how we feel inside - our problems and worries.
He wants all of us to join his family, whatever tribe, group or country we belong to. Only when we belong to him can we be complete and whole. Without him, there is an empty space in our lives - nothing else can fill that space, even though we try to find things that will do it.
This is explained in the Bible's book of Hebrews (part of the Injil): "Jesus, the high priest that we have, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways that we are tempted but he never sinned" (Chapter 4 verse 15).
The One (Jesus) who makes people holy, and those people who are made holy, are from the same family. So he (Jesus) is not ashamed to call those people his brothers and sisters." (Chapter 2, verse 11)

NOT J UST FOR WHITE MEN
Onage James is a SOON reader from Busia, Kenya and writes: I did not know the love of God. When I was a boy I laughed at my friends if they talked about Jesus Christ. I used to say, "That is the white men's *tradition."
Our family rarely went to any Christian meetings even though my father knew the Bible very well. He never taught us that God loves us. Instead our home became a bad place to be in.
Then things began to change slowly. My grandmother came all the way from Sudan to visit us in Kenya. She was a Christian and I used to say, "This old woman is wasting her time," because she often talked to God (prayed), even saying thank you to him every time she had a drink of water. I hated her prayers.
My grandmother became ill and, after a few days, she died. The next morning, when we were going to bury her, my old grandfather died too. I was so sad that I could not hold back my tears. But even after this I did not turn to God and things just became worse. I continued to *mock Christians.

MORE SADNESS
In 1998, my mother had an accident and could not leave her bed. She died on December 15. I wanted to kill myself because I loved my mother so much but I decided not to do so. The sadness made me ill with stomach ulcers.
My father missed my mother and he missed his children because we were away at boarding schools. He too developed stomach ulcers. Then in February 2000 he died. All hope left us. People came and took all that we possessed and we were left with an empty house.
Because I am the eldest son in the family of five, I had to take over. I cut trees on our land and sold them to pay the school fees for my younger brother and sisters. My friends stayed away from me because they knew they could not help me.

SPECIAL STORY
One day I was alone in my room. I took my father's Bible and started to read. I found a story Jesus told about a boy who went away from his father and did many wrong things. His life got so bad that no one would help him and he could not help himself. At last he went to his father who welcomed him back into his home.

I realized I was like the son and God is like the father. It was as though I had been a blind man and did not see how much God loved me. So I knelt down and asked God to forgive me for all the wrong things I had said about him. I needed Jesus Christ to show me the way to go.
Now I know he is not "the white men's tradition". He is the true God who loves us whatever we have done or said. I still struggle to help my brother and sisters, I am still an orphan, but I know Jesus will always be with me and help me in my struggles.
You can read this story in the book of the Bible called Luke, chapter 15 and verses 11 to 32.


DID YOU KNOW? Caring for young

Many baby animals need their parents. For some kinds of animals, it is a very short time, for others it is longer. For humans, children need their parents to look after them for many years. Many are damaged when this does not happen.
- When the eggs of the mallee fowl (a brown bird) hatch, the parents do not look after them at all. The chicks must look after themselves. They can run and find food a few hours after they hatch and fly when only one day old.
- Young roseate spoonbill birds stay in the nest for about six weeks. Both the parents care for them.
- The white-toothed shrew (a very small animal like a mouse) takes her babies with her when they are seven days old. Each shrew holds on to the one in front so they are safe. They can look after themselves when they are three weeks old.

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY - STAND TALL!

DO PICTURES TELL T H E TRUTH?"
"Was it really like that?" we ask when we see a picture or photograph. Often there are pictures of Jesus (Isa Masih) in Bibles or storybooks that show him as a white man with blue eyes.
Of course, there were no cameras at the time when Jesus lived, so no-one knows what he looked like, or the exact colour of his skin. But we can be sure that because he was a man from the Middle East, he had dark skin and brown eyes.

BORN IN ASIA, LIVED IN AFRICA
Jesus was born in Asia, in the country then called Palestine. When he was a child, his family became refugees in an African country. They had to escape because their lives were in danger from a dictator - the cruel ruler of their country. Jesus was not a European, he never even visited Europe!
*Ancestors of his people came from different tribes and countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
So Christianity did not start in any Western country. Groups of Christians were meeting to worship God in many parts of Africa and India only a few years after Jesus died. Many people living in China, Mongolia and Japan 800 years ago believed in Jesus.
Europe is a place where people have turned away from God. There are many more followers of Jesus in Africa and Asia than in Europe.

DOES IT MATTER?
So does it matter what colour Jesus was? The Bible says that he was a person like us, except that he never did anything wrong. So if we make pictures of him, it is good to show him as a person from our country – even wearing the sort of clothes that our people wear. A picture that shows Jesus like this is telling something true. It is saying to us that Jesus can be a friend, a brother, a part of our family. It shows that he understands how we feel inside - our problems and worries.
He wants all of us to join his family, whatever tribe, group or country we belong to. Only when we belong to him can we be complete and whole. Without him, there is an empty space in our lives - nothing else can fill that space, even though we try to find things that will do it.
This is explained in the Bible's book of Hebrews (part of the Injil): "Jesus, the high priest that we have, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways that we are tempted but he never sinned" (Chapter 4 verse 15).
The One (Jesus) who makes people holy, and those people who are made holy, are from the same family. So he (Jesus) is not ashamed to call those people his brothers and sisters." (Chapter 2, verse 11)

NOT J UST FOR WHITE MEN
Onage James is a SOON reader from Busia, Kenya and writes: I did not know the love of God. When I was a boy I laughed at my friends if they talked about Jesus Christ. I used to say, "That is the white men's *tradition."
Our family rarely went to any Christian meetings even though my father knew the Bible very well. He never taught us that God loves us. Instead our home became a bad place to be in.
Then things began to change slowly. My grandmother came all the way from Sudan to visit us in Kenya. She was a Christian and I used to say, "This old woman is wasting her time," because she often talked to God (prayed), even saying thank you to him every time she had a drink of water. I hated her prayers.
My grandmother became ill and, after a few days, she died. The next morning, when we were going to bury her, my old grandfather died too. I was so sad that I could not hold back my tears. But even after this I did not turn to God and things just became worse. I continued to *mock Christians.

MORE SADNESS
In 1998, my mother had an accident and could not leave her bed. She died on December 15. I wanted to kill myself because I loved my mother so much but I decided not to do so. The sadness made me ill with stomach ulcers.
My father missed my mother and he missed his children because we were away at boarding schools. He too developed stomach ulcers. Then in February 2000 he died. All hope left us. People came and took all that we possessed and we were left with an empty house.
Because I am the eldest son in the family of five, I had to take over. I cut trees on our land and sold them to pay the school fees for my younger brother and sisters. My friends stayed away from me because they knew they could not help me.

SPECIAL STORY
One day I was alone in my room. I took my father's Bible and started to read. I found a story Jesus told about a boy who went away from his father and did many wrong things. His life got so bad that no one would help him and he could not help himself. At last he went to his father who welcomed him back into his home.

I realized I was like the son and God is like the father. It was as though I had been a blind man and did not see how much God loved me. So I knelt down and asked God to forgive me for all the wrong things I had said about him. I needed Jesus Christ to show me the way to go.
Now I know he is not "the white men's tradition". He is the true God who loves us whatever we have done or said. I still struggle to help my brother and sisters, I am still an orphan, but I know Jesus will always be with me and help me in my struggles.
You can read this story in the book of the Bible called Luke, chapter 15 and verses 11 to 32.


DID YOU KNOW? Caring for young

Many baby animals need their parents. For some kinds of animals, it is a very short time, for others it is longer. For humans, children need their parents to look after them for many years. Many are damaged when this does not happen.
- When the eggs of the mallee fowl (a brown bird) hatch, the parents do not look after them at all. The chicks must look after themselves. They can run and find food a few hours after they hatch and fly when only one day old.
- Young roseate spoonbill birds stay in the nest for about six weeks. Both the parents care for them.
- The white-toothed shrew (a very small animal like a mouse) takes her babies with her when they are seven days old. Each shrew holds on to the one in front so they are safe. They can look after themselves when they are three weeks old.

THIS IS TRUE TORTURE!

"I   W A S   I N   T W O   P R I S O N S”

Wang is a SOON reader. He is 43 years old and comes from Fujian Province in

China. But now he is in prison in Thailand. There he learnt that Jesus Christ loves him and he became a Christian. Here is his story:

LIFE SENTENCE

In January 2000, the police arrested me in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, for carrying illegal drugs. The sentence I was given in the court was life imprisonment. But this was my second prison.

All my life I worshipped idols and bad spirits. Fear had hold of me. I felt as if I was a prisoner in a dark place - my first prison.

HOPE

When I was put in prison in Thailand, I was given a Bible, the Christian's holy book. I began to read it. As I studied it, my life began to change. I read about Jesus Christ who came to bring freedom for the whole world.  

He gives us hope in place of fear and despair. I realized that even in Bangkok Prison, my mind and spirit could be set free.

I asked Jesus to change me and give me a new start with him as my friend. I learned that he was with me and that he even loves people who are in prison.

My body is still suffering because I have lost my freedom, but my spirit is not a prisoner any more. It is free and happy because Jesus Christ is now my friend and helper.

Africa Zero Poverty Association (AZPA)

WHAT IS AZPA?

Africa Zero Poverty Association (AZPA) is a

Non-Governmental Organization incorporated in Nigeria to combat, with a view to eliminating, poverty from Africa.

OUR MOTIVATION

We are driven by the graveness of the effects of the poverty pandemic in Africa. By the fact that sub-Saharan Africa has been in decline for a quarter of a century:

That the other regions that around 1980 were characterized by low per capita income have on the average grown rapidly.

That, while for instance, between 1981 and 2001 the number of people living in absolute poverty fell worldwide from 40% to 21% of the total population, in sub-Saharan Africa it increased from 42% to 47%: the world is moving forward in economic development, Africa is moving backward. This prompted UNIDO to in 2004 to declare “arresting and reversing economic decline in Africa as the most vital development challenge today”.

Realizing that the great obligation of ending the long haul of poverty in Africa is the honourable responsibility of the generation, we accepted the difficult task in good faith.

OUR VISION

To end human misery and want in Africa

OUR MISSION

To make a statistically significant contribution to Africa's achievement of GDP per capita growth of 6% and more till 2015.

OUR OBJECTIVES

The Africa Zero Poverty Association exists to:

a. Combat income and non-income poverty in Africa

b. Advocate accountability and the rule of law in government as a poverty reduction strategy.

c. Advocate and press for the adoption of business friendly policies by the government as a way of fostering economic growth and employment expansion.

d. Foster the growth and development of small and medium scale enterprises in Africa.

e. Combat functional illiteracy in Africa through human resource development programs.

f. Improve the productivity of small holder farmer.

g. Improve income growth through financial mediation.

CORE VALUES

1. Strong desire and deep commitment to making a significant contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.

2. A determined focus on market principle, trade and development as a strategy for the actualization of the organization's objectives.

3. Sense of urgency about our desire to effect a change.

4. A deep commitment to the principle of selflessness and to a boundless sense of sacrifice in the pursuit of our set objectives.

5. An acceptance, as our exclusive responsibility, of the duty of eradicating poverty from Africa.

6. A commitment to the promotion of citizenship participation in government.

7. High ethical standards, excellence and integrity in the conduct of our business.

STRATEGIC PLAN

SME CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT - International opinion on poverty eradication was shifted to a functional approach which centres on household income and consumption expansion driven by increased employment generation rather than on welfare transfer. The emphasis is on the efficient development and utilization of productive capabilities in such a way that the working age population becomes more and more fully and productively employed. The UN MGDs stated that “achieving the income poverty goals depend more on trade and development”. However, since in developing countries, there is, due to the pervasive poverty, a lack of effective demand, trade and development is greatly constrained reinforcing the vicious cycle of poverty.

It is in this regard that export promotion becomes crucial for any serious developing country poverty reduction strategy.

EXPORT-LED POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES

UNITAD in 2004 declared that “it is very difficult to reduce poverty in an LDC if exports are not growing, or are growing very slowly, and if import capacity is severely constrained”. Very poor countries experience a number of interlocking domestic vicious circles that serve to perpetrate a circle of economic stagnation and mass poverty. Integration with the world economy through trade, investment, technology imports, financial flows and movement of people and ideas can greatly help countries to break out of these vicious circles.

However, for export expansion to be able to reduce poverty, experts say, the real export growth must exceed 5% per annum. Secondly, it is believed that manufactures exporters have higher success rate at reducing poverty than commodity or mineral exporters.

Africa Zero Poverty Association (AZPA) adapted the ITC export-led poverty reduction programme as its key strategic policy. The EPEP has two main pillars:

a. The development of the entrepreneurial capacity of the poor with

regard to exporting.

b. Linking that capacity to proven export market opportunities.

EPEP projects focus on five sectors based on analysis of demand in regional or international markets and the employment and income generation potential of these sectors. The sectors are:

1. Agricultural products (fresh and processed)

2. Textiles (fibres and clothing)

3. Animal skin (leather and leather goods)

4. Light manufacturing

5. Community-based tourism.

AZPA hence works with SMEs in these sectors with a view to helping them in:

1. Identifying winning products and growth markets - Projects are selected on the basis of the growth potential of the product in question, and the existence of a stable demand for the product. An attempt is made to identify products that can mobilize dormant or underutilized production capacities by adapting them to the specifications of a clearly identified product-market demand.

2. Product development, product adaptation, standards and quality - The products to be exported must be competitive in international markets and meet international product requirements. AZPA seeks co-operation with bigger organizations like ITC, NEPC, etc to help in providing technical assistance for this purpose, i.e. assistance in this stage could involve aiding producers in seeking ISO Certification, technological support in production and adaptation of the product to the market, or assistance in quality control and packaging. Other examples of assistance are aiding producers with trial orders before a large scale export order is made to identify and correct any potential problems.

3. Selecting and organizing poor producers - AZPA has worked extensively in the area of ensuring they are organized in some form of co-operative to ensure they achieve a sufficient scale to produce, market and distribute their products. We are currently feverishly searching out ways of facilitating their training in marketing, producing and entrepreneurship.

4. Selecting the right product markets for the producer organization - A key aspect is the ability of the productive organization (producers) to sustain production under competitive condition, as well as its ability to meet changing competitive demands. Attention is paid to the strength of the export in international markets.

5. Linking producers to buyers - Another crucial element of the EPEP is the linking of Nigerian producers to international buyers. AZPA works to match-make Nigerian producers with international buyers.

6. Finance and Credit - AZPA works in ensuring self-sufficient credit services for EPEP projects.

7. Managerial Training - The development of appropriate managerial skills with a view to making poor producers self-sufficient in the long-run is a key issue addressed via training. AZPA seeks partnership with other organizations like NEPC to ensure this.

8. Support Services - AZPA does a needs’ assessment at the onset of the project and carries it throughout the project to ensure every support needed is provided to ensure success.

9. Gender - We encourage women participation.

10. Environment - We also encourage the production of environmentally friendly products.

ADVOCACY

In advocacy AZPA aims to stimulate the supply, by the government of Nigeria, of conditions conducive for economic growth, employment, household income and consumption expansion. The consensus in development economics is that basic infrastructure is sine quanon for economic development and poverty eradication. Hence the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) noted that “Meeting the imperious social needs in sub-Saharan Africa is actually a precondition of economic development: the inability to cross thresholds such as basic standards of healthcare, agric productivity and core infrastructure block the regions' transaction to sustained growth”. This report went on to hinge any hope of success in poverty reduction on successes in supplying basic infrastructure. It noted this would deliver an effective GDP growth impulse of about 1.5 percent per year.

Noting the importance of good governance for poverty reduction, we mainstreamed advocacy in our strategic plan.

THE CORRUPTION MENACE

Corruption is the albatross of our nation. The nation's nemesis and its obituary. It has been the barrier to the effective mobilization of the nation's resources - tax and revenue corruption - and also to the effective allocation and utilization of these resources embezzlement, graft, etc; drifting prized resources away from the activities that are necessary for our sustainable development.

A recent report noted that six Niger Delta Governors squandered a whooping five trillion naira between 1999 and 2007 with nothing to show for it. The roads and drainage infrastructure are still antiquarian, the taps dry, power unavailable, and their citizens miserable. Little wonder at the close of 2007 the EFCC said it has cases against 35 State Governors. In the statement, its former Chairman Malam Nuhu Ribadu, noted that “eighty percent of Nigeria's money has gone to waste” over twelve billion dollars are taken off Nigeria's coffers in theft every year.

For this reason AZPA decided to start its advocacy work in the area of the war on corruption.

After studying the nature and forms of corruption in Nigeria, we have come to the conclusion in concordance with Transparency International (TI) that immunity for senior political office holders is the chief policy-related cause of corruption in Nigeria.

Hence, we undertook the Write-Your-Rep Advocacy project focused on a demand for the removal of the immunity clause (section 308) from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

BE A MEMBER...

AZPA is a membership NGO. The member is the foundation and pillar of the Association. Its membership is open to all Africans.

We enjoin you to sign up for membership today and be a co-worker with God in the process of recreating a world where justice and equality shall prevail; where hunger, poverty and oppression shall be no more. No one can save Africa but Africans!

DONATE

You can leave gifts in cheques, credit or debit cards, shares, experience, payroll giving otherwise.

Thank you for taking a moment to fill this form and helping to fight poverty with a cheque, credit or debit card. Your gift to help AZPA with its work all over Africa, supporting the poor to work their way out of poverty is appreciated.

Mail us today at:

www.azpanig@azepanig.org

OFFICE ADDRESS:

No. 255 Agbani Road,

Enugu,

Nigeria.

E-mail: azpanig@azepanig.org, azpanig@yahoo.com

Tel: +234 (0)8065838656, 8030888245, 7089333922.