Feature: Taking Africa Seriously: A Case for Enhanced Resource Flow to Facilitate Development and Reduce Poverty

Despite considerable improvements in the policy environment in many African countries in the last two decades, it is still difficult for the rest of the world to take Africa seriously. Not taking Africa seriously affects the growth and development outcomes. Investors do not show much optimism about the region's future, hence the relatively slow flow of private capital into the region. Capable Africans also show little enthusiasm about the future, hence the flight of financial wealth and human capital out of the region. In the last decade, African countries have stepped up the campaign to make their reform efforts appear more credible, adopting more cooperative approaches and greater interest in governance issues within a more global and regional framework. This article seeks to show why the current efforts at broader reform need to be considered more seriously by the rest of the world. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.