Cape Verde

Cape Verde became independent upon the unilateral declaration of independence for Guinea-Bissau on September 24, 1973, by the African Party for the Independence and Union of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) on July 5, 1975. In terms of human development, Cape Verde—classified “medium development” on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2007 Report—towers above its fellow west African countries such as Nigeria, which has comparatively massive natural resources. Cape Verde has relatively functional laws and policies that protect the interests of women when compared with other countries in Africa. The female literacy rate is quite encouraging; infant and maternal mortality have remained one of the lowest on the continent. Accessibility to health care has been quite encouraging, and hunger [Page 162]seems a rare phenomenon in the ...