poverty Archives - TalkAfrique

April 21, 2011April 26, 2011

Africa: Let us not Forget Reparations

It is pertinent to draw the world’s attention to the issue of reparations for Africa once again. This much vilified issue of reparations for Africa seems to have receded to the background particularly since the death of one of its most avid supporters the late Nigerian Business Mogul MKO Abiola.

The question being asked by many informed observers is why the call for reparations for Africa? They opined that Africa is asking for too much and also seeking to be “spoon fed” without basis. They tend to draw analogies between Africa and other continents, particularly Asia with whom Africa shares similar history. They point to the fact that if the continent of Asia could set itself on the path of self discovery and economic and social development, in spite of its dearth of mineral resources, then Africa has no reason to lag behind and continue to call for reparations. They also draw the attention of the pro reparations community to the fact that most African nations have mismanaged loans and development aids granted them by Breton Woods Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and donor agencies such as the London Club, Paris Club etc. As a matter of fact they assert that Africa is now enmeshed in the debt trap because of the foreign loan mismanagement malaise.

They also pointed out, that Africa has not been able to tap or benefit from robust economic packages like the ambitious AGOA [African Growth and Opportunities Act] signed into law by the former American President, Bill Clinton, which sought to provide leverage for African goods in the American market. The weakening of institutions of state and absence of democracy in the true sense of the word in most parts of Africa has also been fingered as one of the reasons why the quest for reparations is untenable.

The sound and forceful logic of the anti- reparations community in rejecting calls for reparations for Africa may be compelling but there is a need to expand the frontiers of the question from “why reparations?” to “what is reparation?”. Reparations may be conceptualized as compensation especially monetary, paid to countries or people who have been subjected to severe deprivations and degradations which consequently leads to a pronounced disadvantage.

The history of the African continent through several epochs and eras in world history which is well documented is replete with severe deprivations and human degradations, accompanied by so much bloodshed. This includes the slave trade, colonization, imperialism, resource exploitation, proxy wars religious inquests and so on. It may be averred that a correlation, maybe not so significant, can be drawn between these events and the present state of the African continent. Hence the call for reparations may NOT out rightly be out of order.

It is to this end, that a call for reparations is made, and such compensations should be channeled to critical areas such as the endemic scourge of malaria on the African continent, pandemic scourge of HIV/AIDS, famine in Africa, humanitarian displacement [Refuge problems] that are all still prevalent problems in the continent

February 16, 2011

Self-Made Man of God Inserts Fingers into 5 Women Private Parts

A 29-year-old self-styled Man of God has been nabbed by the Adenta District Police Command for allegedly inserting his fingers into the private parts of five women under the pretext of praying for them.

Prophet Richard Addo, who claims to be a member of Word Miracle Church at Nungua, a suburb of Accra, was arrested after one of the women boldly reported the incident to the police.

As at press time yesterday, the five complainants had given their statements to the Adenta police about the alleged acts of Prophet Richard Addo. According to information available to DAILY GUIDE, Prophet Addo also charged the women various amounts of money ranging from GH¢150 to GH¢200 and as well tried to ravage their bodies.

According to one of the victims (named with-held), she met the man of God in November 2010 on the street where he told her that he had had a vision in which a baby was walking behind her and crying. “I then confessed to him that I have had an abortion before and he said that he will help me pray to break that bondage. “We then made an appointment to meet at my hostel for prayers. Later, he asked me to give him G¢150 to purchase olive oil for the deliverance prayers while the remaining balance will also be used as seed money for prayer request.”

According to her, during a subsequent prayer session, Prophet Richard Addo asked her to strip naked in a hotel room while he used the olive oil to rub her whole body, following which he inserted the olive oil into her vagina.

Another victim also narrated that Prophet Richard Addo after meeting her, said it had been revealed to him that she was barren. “He made me to pay GH¢200 for olive oil and the rest to be used as prayer request fees.” She maintained that Prophet Richard Addo inserted four of his fingers into her private parts while praying for her.

Confirming the story to Daily Guide, Adenta District Police Commander, DSP Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, said the victims reported to the police on Monday February 14, 2011 about what they allegedly went through at the hands of the self-styled pastor.

He said one of the victims reported first to the station that the said man of God took her laptop, an amount of GH¢150 and fingered her as well under the pretext of praying for her.

DSP Ahiatafu said in all, five women, some of whom were married and others students, had lodged complaints against the pastor. “After collecting money from them, Prophet Richard Addo then takes them to a hotel room, rubs olive oil on their bodies, and inserts his fingers into their private pans as well,” the commander said.

He appealed to other women who might have fallen victim to his acts to report at the station. When the self-styled man of God was asked to demonstrate how he did it, he said he inserted his four fingers into the women’s vaginas with the help of the olive oil.

(The daily Guide)

February 9, 2011February 10, 2011

In Africa, a Man Without Job Has no Status

Michael Fleshman

For 17 years Peter worked as a machine operator in a South African textile plant. It was not high-paying work, but it paid the bills and kept his family above the poverty line. When he lost his job because foreign imports were cheaper, he told University of KwaZulu-Natal researcher Claire Ichou, he was plunged into poverty — and despair. “Peter explains very painfully how he has lost his dignity,” she wrote in an academic paper. “He declares that his wife does not respect him. He tells us that his children are starving.” In Peter’s eyes, she continued, “a man without a job is not a man and there is nothing he can do. He has no status.”

As the world enters the final phase of the drive to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ambitious targets for slashing poverty, improving health and education, empowering women and protecting the environment by 2015, African leaders are starting to focus on the economic underpinnings of sustainable progress. Lifting the most destitute out of poverty, they note, will require greater investments in agricultural and industrial production, greater job creation and policies that favour economic growth.

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika, who also serves as chair of the African Union (AU) this year, told world leaders gathered in New York last September for the UN MDGs Summit, “For Africa as a whole, we strongly appeal to the United Nations to review the supply side [of development] to improve access of ordinary people, especially women and children, to the services envisaged under the MDGs. Most MDGs depend on the availability of more schools, more hospitals, more rural infrastructures, more boreholes, dams and wells, more trained teachers, doctors, nurses, agronomists, scientists.… Let us pay attention to the supply side if we are to meet these goals.”

Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo K. Peter Pinda told the audience that creating jobs and opportunities in the countryside is critical to Tanzania’s progress on the goals, since the majority of his citizens make their living from the land, and farm incomes are well below the poverty line.

Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank, received the loudest applause at a meeting when he observed that when donors first began aid programmes in Africa, “they brought us fish, but we told them we had fish. Then they came to teach us how to fish, and we told them we already knew how to fish.” What Africa needs today, Mr. Kaberuka said with a smile, is for its partners to “help us build a fishing industry” that supports processing and packing industries, generates steady jobs, links up with other parts of the domestic economy and improves African competitiveness in the global marketplace.

‘Assume effective leadership’

Such a focus on employment and economic development has grown more important in the wake of the global economic crisis and the failure of Africa’s traditional donors to honour pledges to double development aid to the region.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda told the MDG Summit that “the MDGs must remain the international priority.” But he underscored the importance of Africa’s charting its own path: “The debate on the MDG agenda has, at times, been dominated by a few voices, primarily from the developed nations and affiliated non-governmental organizations. Despite their good intentions, their perspective is often predicated on paternalism not partnership, on charity not self-reliance, and on promises unfulfilled rather than real change.”

President Kagame continued, “We can no longer rely on the goodwill of other nations — we neither need to, nor should want to. We must assume effective leadership, take full ownership of the development of our countries and truly deliver for our citizens.”

Supachai Panitchpakdi, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), cautioned that expanded social services, while important, are not sustainable without a firm economic base. Excessive emphasis on social services, along with widening social and economic inequality, Mr. Panitchpakdi continued, require “repositioning the MDGs within a broader development framework.

Such a framework emphasizes investment, especially in productive capacity, an equitable distribution of resources, policy space, and sustainable employment generation as the main drivers of poverty reduction.” He concluded, “One reason we risk missing many MDG targets is that the economic model that underpinned them has, I believe, been indifferent to the kind of values behind a ‘sufficiency economy’” that provides a decent living for all.

Michael Fleshman has been a writer and consultant for the UN Department of Public Information in New York since 2000, working primarily for the UN’s Africa Renewal Magazine and Africa Renewal Online programme. Prior to joining the UN he spent 20 years at the anti-apartheid American Committee On Africa and The Africa Fund, working to build US solidarity with the African liberation struggles in South and southern Africa, and with the Nigerian pro-democracy and environmental movements

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January 28, 2011

From Negro History Week to Black History Month

by Louise Fenner

Carter G. Woodson, the son of former slaves in Virginia, realized that the struggles and achievements of Americans of African descent were being ignored or misrepresented. He founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which supports historical research, publishes a scholarly journal and sets the theme for Black History Month each year.

Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles — slavery, prejudice, poverty — as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans make up about 14 percent of the U.S. population and comprise the second-largest minority group, after Hispanics.

In 2009, the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first African-American president, lent Black History Month a special significance. Obama took the oath of office January 20, the day after Americans honored the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday and national day of service.

In his inaugural address, Obama acknowledged the historical importance of a moment in which “a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”

Honoring accomplishments of Black-Americans

Black History Month was the inspiration of Carter G. Woodson, a noted scholar and historian, who instituted Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Woodson, the son of former slaves in Virginia, realized that the struggles and achievements of Americans of African descent were being ignored or misrepresented. He founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which supports historical research, publishes a scholarly journal and sets the theme for Black History Month each year.

John Fleming, ASALH president from 2007 to 2009 and director emeritus of the Cincinnati Museum Center, said Obama’s heritage — a black father born in Kenya and a white mother born in the United States — “continues to reflect the contributions Africans and Europeans have made to American history from the very beginning.”

Fleming said he believes Black History Month should focus on positive as well as negative aspects of the black experience. “Certainly, struggle has been an ongoing theme in our history from the very beginning. However, we were not slaves prior to being captured in Africa — and while slavery was part of our experience for 250 years, we have a hundred-and-some years in freedom that we also need to deal with.”

He said he has seen “substantial progress on many fronts,” but “at the same time there are still major problems that have to be addressed, one being the permanent underclass in urban areas now. We don’t seem to be able to break that cycle of poverty. And there are still some major rural pockets of poverty” such as in the Mississippi Delta.

“I’m glad to see the National African American Museum being developed on the Mall, which will tell a much broader story,” said Fleming. In 2003, President George W. Bush signed legislation to establish the new museum, which will be located on the National Mall near the Washington Monument. Although the new museum has not yet been built, it launched a photo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery late in 2007 that is traveling to museums around the country through 2011.

“I think that African-American history gets more attention during February than during any other time of year, “ Fleming said, “and I think it’s an opportunity for us in the field to emphasize that it is something that should be studied throughout the year.”

Each year, the U.S. president honors Black History Month, or African-American History Month as it is also called, with a proclamation and a celebration at the White House. States and cities hold their own events around the country, and media feature topics related to black history.

ASALH has its headquarters in Washington, where Woodson lived from 1915 until his death in 1950. His home is designated a national historic site.

January 20, 2011March 20, 2011

Sex Workers in Umunde Delta State Beat Three Customers Into Coma

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It is reported that commercial sex workers in Umunede Delta State have beaten three customers into a unconsciousness for non-complete payment after several rounds of sex. The report obtained from LEADERSHIP SUNDAY asserts that the irritated prostitutes descended on their customers who were said to have taken Viagra before seeking them out.

The going rate in Umunede, for what is called “daybreak”, is N8,000 to N10,000 depending on what is agreed upon.

The severe beating which took place on the night of January 13^th involved Igbo traders travelling from Benin to Onitsha. After being stranded for hours due to a broken down vehicle, the travelers had no option but to seek a place to survive the chilly night.

The traders therefore went into a ‘hotel’ only to discover that all the hotels were brothels filled with sex workers. They were said to have bargained to sleep with a few of them on “daybreak” menu but this was not to be as they tried to elope without paying in full.

Observers say the overly vexed up prostitutes joined hands and released heavy blows on their customers, leaving them with deep-cut wounds. They were taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH) still in heavy bleeding.

The victims’ names were given as Emeka, Nnamdi, and Cornelius who hail from Imo State but live in Benin City where they deal in vehicle spare parts.

Some bystanders confirmed that some of the men were still ‘hard’ are they were receiving the blows on their faces.

While this may appear as entertainment, of course it does entertain, it reveals a major problem that African governments and leaders need to address if we as a people are going to meet the challenges of the millenium development goals. Food for thought.

December 27, 2010January 19, 2011

What Americans percieve as Africa’s serious problems, Gallup poll

Six in 10 say malaria a very serious problem in Africa

A recent Gallup survey finds that roughly 6 in 10 Americans say malaria is a very serious problem in Africa right now, but they are much more likely to view HIV or AIDS and poor nutrition as very serious problems for that continent. When asked more broadly about the seriousness of malaria worldwide, significantly fewer Americans, only about 3 in 10, consider it a very serious problem, ranking it at the bottom of a list of global health conditions that includes HIV or AIDS, cancer, poor nutrition, and tuberculosis. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say malaria is a serious health problem in both Africa and around the world more generally.

Overall Results

HIV or AIDS and poor nutrition are, by far, perceived as the most serious health conditions in Africa right now, of the five tested in the poll. Nearly all Americans, 96%, say that HIV or AIDS is a very serious problem in Africa, and 88% say poor nutrition is a very serious problem. A smaller percentage of Americans, but still a majority, say malaria (62%) and tuberculosis (53%) are serious problems facing that continent. Only 30% say cancer is a serious problem in Africa.

On a worldwide basis, at least 8 in 10 Americans say HIV or AIDS, cancer, and poor nutrition are very serious problems around the world right now. Americans perceive tuberculosis and malaria to be less serious problems, with only 31% saying tuberculosis and 28% saying malaria are very serious problems in the world.

The public is almost three times more likely to say cancer is a more serious problem around the world (87%) than it is in Africa (30%). Conversely, Americans perceive malaria (62% vs. 28%) and tuberculosis (53% vs. 31%) to be much more of a problem in Africa than in other parts of the world. Americans are equally likely to say AIDS and poor nutrition are serious problems in the world and in Africa.

December 17, 2010December 18, 2010

“Sleeping beauty’ and societal implications

The key to looking attractive and healthy is simpler than you will imagine: it’s all in a ‘good sleep’, a new scientific research suggests.

The idea of ‘beauty sleep’ was an ancient myth but now experts say they have uncovered the first scientific backing for the concept.

The team of researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, recruited 23 healthy adults aged 18 to 31. The volunteers were photographed after eight hours sleep and again after being kept awake for 31 hours.
The photographs were standardised, meaning the people were the same distance from the camera, wore no make-up and wore the same expression.

The pictures were then presented in a random order to 65 untrained observers. The observers were asked to rank the participants on a scale according to how healthy, attractive or sleep-deprived they looked.

The results: The observers scored the sleep-deprived participants as less healthy and less attractive while the volunteers who had adequate sleep were ranked the opposite: healthier and more attractive.

The result is published in the British Medical Journal.

Conclusion: Humans are sensitive to sleep-related facial cues, with potential implications for social and clinical judgments and behavior.

My personal commentary:

Whether it is the University student’s apprehension about a pending examination, or the petty trader’s anxiety about the economy, sleep debt is a major problem in most hard-pressed economies such as those in Africa.

If not dealt with, an escalating sleep debt can result in fibromyalgia syndrome, also called chronic fatigue syndrome. This syndrome leads to prevalent pain and fatigue of just about any muscle in the body. Usually, it brings about other forms of psychological conflicts like depression disorders.

In fact, losing sleep can even have negative consequences for your heart health. Heightened risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality has been associated with sleep debt.

What you can do:

Spread the word. Help your people.[ad#Adsense-200by200sq]

December 6, 2010January 24, 2011

Africa lagging behind in getting five-a-day

Africans are not eating enough fruit and vegetables, a critical problem on a continent where obesity, diabetes and heart disease are becoming as concerning as under-nutrition, scientists said Monday.

In the majority of African countries, half the population could be classified as overweight, Jacky Ganry from French agricultural research centre CIRAD told a conference in Dakar.

“In Africa we are in a critical situation, the average per capita availability (of fruit and vegetables) is far below the recommended level,” he said. The World Health Organisation puts the level at 400 grammes a day.

Massive urbanisation, lifestyle changes and dietary habits — particularly in urban areas — along with physical inactivity and inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables are leading to growing numbers of non-communicable diseases, he said.

Read the rest here