Americans’ pizza money can end poverty in Africa, says UK professor

Poverty on the African continent is not a matter of ill luck or the will of God but a direct consequence of political choices.

This was the sentiment of University of Bristol’s professor of social justice, David Gordon.

Gordon was addressing the International Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa 2021 hosted by the University of Cape Town.

Gordon told participants that shiny new technologies are not needed to address inequality on the continent.

North Americans’ pizza budget can eradicate African poverty

How much will it cost to bring Africa out of poverty?

Brown said European domesticated animals have a far better quality of life than the world’s poor people.

“The cost of providing every person on the planet with basic healthcare and adequate nutrition is equivalent to European spend on dog and cat food,” said Brown.

He added: “If all the money that North Americans spend on pizza were given to the poor in Africa, poverty on the continent would disappear.”

Oxfam SA’s advocate Louisa Zondo backed up Brown’s statements, saying that 22 of the richest men have more wealth than all the women in Africa. 

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City infrastructure proved to be a central point underpinning several interconnected goals for economic development. 

UCT’s director of the African Centre for Cities, Professor Edgar Pieterse, said there is a disconnect between increasing the scale and access to infrastructure, and the efficiency of the infrastructure choices made, and their carbon footprint. 

“Each time a new bridge is built or more sanitation pipelines tunnelled, policymakers and researchers should choose to see it as an opportunity to advance a more circular economy,” said Pieterse.

Pieterse said developing cities needed smart and efficient systems with minimal waste that is fed back into valued use rather than being discarded. 

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