Can you just stick to Ghana or something more specific? There's various countries which are absolutely not in need of any of those things. For example, more than 10 million people in Tunisia living on a PPP gdp/capita of $1k a month who aren't worrying about soap. Or Egypt, a country of about 100 million people living on $12k PPP gdp/capita, if Tunisia was too small.

I'm not trying to say here that North-Africa is representative for all of Africa. But I am tired of people making the opposite claim.

Arguably what they need is the infrastructure to produce and distribute all those things. And the economic activity for people to afford them. Except as an emergency measure, aid tends to destroy all that. But a prerequisite is education, of course. And aren't computers a key part of modern education?

This is somewhat patronizing. Have you tried asking rural African schoolteachers what they most need?

Empirically, many people all over the developing world are prioritizing communication devices over those other things you listed.

>Have you tried asking rural African schoolteachers what they most need?

yes. many times.

How about: Each computer comes with a bar of soap, and with the skills learned you can compete in the world and afford all the soap you will ever need? I don’t see it as either/or.

When computers are used properly many can lift themselves from poverty.

I know because that’s what I did.

My man! Let them have soap!