We have an immense problem…of development…If we do not develop Africa, if we do not make available the necessary resources to bring about this development, these people will flood the world.

— French President Jacques Chirac, addressing TV audiences on Bastille Day.  Chirac warned against the international ramifications of poverty in African nations and implored — however inarticulately — developed nations to contribute to the economic development of the African continent.  Chirac underscored the potential economic impact of the continent and its 950 million residents, half of whom are under the age of 17; the population of the continent is expected to reach approximately 2 billion by 2050.  

Mimi Hanaoka