Just Africa

‘Dead Aid’ for African Development?

From Bono to Angelina Jolie, the ‘cool’ humanitarian thing to do these days is to send money to Africa, you know, to help feed, shelter, educate and provide medical services to the starving boney children with flies on their eyes. What may come across as shocking to the Bonos of our world is that not all humanitarian efforts have helped the continent, at least that’s what Moyo would say. Most Africanists have heard of Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo for her clear-cut assertion that foreign aid has not only stagnated, but that it has also been the root cause of developmental retardation for the African continent. Perhaps it is a combination of Moyo’s conservative side and her African roots that have given her considerable attention, often compared to Ayaan Hirsi-Ali -another conservative figure bred on the continent who is widely known for criticizing the Prophet Muhammad. It comes as no surprise that both Hirsi Ali and Moyo have contributed their knowledge and experience to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a harbor of conservative scholar academia.

The emergence of popular, educated African women icons such as Moyo has given Western as well as other audiences new paths for understanding why Africa’s predicament is still enduring decades after colonial rule. Moyo’s perspective is not a completely unexplored opinion, authors such as Paul Easterly have advocated for diminishing help from bureaucratic organizations and instead searching for what he refers to as ‘homegrown development’. So what is fundamentally different about ‘Dead Aid’?  Moyo’s audience ranges from prominent politicians such as Rwandan President Paul Kagame who have been pushing for gradual independence from foreign assistance, to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs who advocate for the ‘end of [African] poverty’ through Western aid.

Throughout her many interviews, Moyo reiterates the main issues that she also raises in her book, one of which argues that foreign aid fuels corruption since there is no transparent allocation of the donation. Moyo raises an interesting point about the lack of fund appropriation for foreign aid; she also understands how this has trapped Africa in an aid dependency cycle that, coupled with operational bureaucracies, disables the development of private enterprise. Thirdly, Moyo argues that ‘large inflows of capital… really kill off the export sector’ because most African nations are abundant in extractable minerals and resources. Finally, Moyo elaborates on the consequences of corruption that result in the African government’s lack of accountability, rather than being held responsible by its people, governments have geared their liability to international organizations and businesses. As a result, Moyo makes the assertion that an African middle-class is barely existent, instead the disparities between the wealthy who remain in power and the poor who are barely surviving, continue to be the center of African realities.

Personally, I would say that Moyo’s collection of data that support her one-sided views have elements of truth within them, however, it would be unrealistic to reinforce a 'let's cut off all foreign aid to Africa' instantly. Despite the corruption and the bureaucracy, foreign aid has been the main source for the survival of at least an estimated millions, for this reason, the plan to decrease and eventually cut off foreign aid would be to strengthen the government's provision of public services. The measures would take time especially because most African governments are known for their notorious personal economic drives, that is why an internal change in the political institutions would have to be upheld alongside the development of a stronger civil society. As Moyo suggests, micro-finance is one of the most effective ways of establishing these goals since a 'homegrown' or bottom-up development could be sustainable in the long-term growth of Africa.The biggest challenges remain: how to deal with political greed? how do we create incentives for African governments to establish public services?

Force Feeding is a Violation of Human Rights

Its name is “leblouh” or intensive force-feeding, and its victims are young girls. The price: her health, future, happiness and dreams. In the African country of Mauritania young girls are terrified of food because the more they are forced to eat, the closer they are to early marriage, young motherhood and deferring their ambitions of working in the professional world, as doctors, nurses, and teachers.

 

The process of “leblouh” entails placing young girls in a camp during school breaks where they are broken down and told that “thin women are inferior” and that men find skinny women revolting. In one camp, the girls are EACH fed 40 egg-size balls of oil foods in addition to 12 pints of goat’s milk and gruel. The total intake for the day equals 14, 000-16,000 calories, this  is 10,000-12,000 more calories than is recommended for a male body builder to intake in a day. If the girl refuses to eat she is beaten and tortured via the placement of two sticks around one toe, which is then squeezed. Even more disturbing: if she vomits the food, she must drink it.

Girls between the ages of 5-14 go through this fattening process. The aim of which is to make them more attractive to their male counter-parts. It is said that Mauritanian men like their women to be fat. Overweight women are sexy and erotic; the fatter the woman, the more beautiful and appealing she is to them. This preference for bigger women dates back to the ancient Moors (nomadic Muslims of the Arabic and Berber stock) who desired fatter wives, as it was a symbol of a man’s wealth. A fat wife meant that the man could afford to hire maids and servants to do the heavy housework, which left his wife plenty of time to lounge around and eat to her heart’s desire.

 

While the end result is aesthetically pleasing to men, the women pay a hefty price for this beauty ideal. Mauritanian women are literally DYING to be beautiful. These young girls are prone to diabetes, heart disease, depression, hypertension, and low self-esteem. The extra fat creates the illusion of a physically more mature girl, a 14 year-old can look 30 with the added fat, this makes it easier for her to marry at a younger age, giving her ambitions an earlier deferral. Marie Claire Magazine reported Dr. Mohammed Ould Madene, an emergency specialist saying, “The fat ideal is a grave matter of public health” he continued to describe a case where a 14-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital because her heart had collapsed under the enormous weight of her body. Sadly this is becoming all too common.  Older married women, desperate to maintain their weight and keep their husbands, go to the black market to purchase drugs to aid in their weight gain. As MC reported, one woman bought weight gain pills that can cause low blood pressure, kidney failure, and blurred vision if she were to misuse it. The woman did this in response to her husband telling her that he “didn’t like sleeping with a bag of bones”. In another case, a pregnant woman died after taking animal hormones in an attempt to give birth to a fat baby.

 

Before the military coup in August 2008, the practice of “leblouh” was declining in Mauritania; there were even some claims that “leblouh” was extinct. However, after the coup, which replaced the democratic government with a Junta (it became official after the July 2009 election) traditional rules became law. When this happened there was a push for women to revert back to traditional roles, hence “leblouh” became the standard for young girls. According to the Mauritanian Government, before the coup, 20-30 % of girls in the urban areas practiced “leblouh” while in the rural areas 50-60% of girls went through the process of “leblouh”. Now however, approximately 80% of girls undergo “leblouh” regardless of their location.

 

While the Mauritanian government has not legalized this deplorable practice, it has made attempts to stop it by implementing information campaigns about the dangers of diabetes and heart disease, one of which included ballads condemning fattening. In 2010, the Mauritanian government plans to launch a program along with the UN Population Fund that is aimed at eliminating harmful practices, including force-feeding to women.

Spotlight on Ugandan Pregnant Women

Maternity in Uganda

In Uganda, there is a saying that goes, “Every pregnant woman has one foot in the grave”. Citizens say this because according to the statistics:

• Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio is 435 deaths per 100,000 live births
• Uganda loses 16 mothers to pregnancy and childbirth everyday; that’s 6,000 deaths annually
• 47% of pregnant Ugandan women go for antenatal check-ups
• 24% of women in their reproductive age use contraceptives
• The four leading causes of maternal death are: bleeding, sepsis, obstructed labor, and abortion.
• For every woman every woman who dies from childbirth and pregnancy, six women survive but with injuries such as obstetric fistula and chronic health problems.

The situation has gotten so bad that the country will not be able to reach two of the MDGs goals which are to reduce the maternal morality rate by three quarters and reduce the mortality rate among children under five by two thirds by 2015.

 These statistics are so high because of several issues:

• Women live very long distances from hospitals and have no access to transportation to take them there.
• Women cannot afford to pay for health-care to get the adequate medical attention they need while pregnant. 
• Some women are afraid/uninformed about hospitals, medical procedures and their benefits. 
• Women and their husbands are not aware of contraceptives and their benefits and how to use them properly.

 What is being done to improve this situation?

§         Poor expectant mothers are now being offered an option to obtain "baby vouchers" Provided through the German Development Bank and the Global Partnership on Output Based Aid (managed trust fund by the World Bank), the “baby voucher” is part of a three-year Reproductive Health Voucher project that is aimed improving the management of STIs and providing safe deliveries in the Ugandan districts of Mbarara, Kiruhura, Isingiro, and Ibanda. This voucher costs sh35, 000 – sh50, 000 and gives the expectant mother access to four antenatal visits, STI and HIV testing, delivery (includes C-section), screenings for malaria and prophylaxis, transportation for referral in case of emergency, and post-natal care (up to six weeks after delivery).

§         The Ugandan Ministry of Health has implemented pilot projects that use the drug, Misoprostol to reduce maternal deaths.

§         The Ugandan Ministry of Health has also acknowledged the need for more trained midwives especially in the rural areas of the country.

 

The Irony:

§         Most poor women can not afford the sh35, 000-sh50, 000 fee for the “baby voucher”

§         The drug, Misoprostol that the Ugandan Minister of Health is suggesting to use because it is “effective and relatively cheap” is, according to the FDA, very unsafe for pregnant women. The FDA states, “Misoprostol administration to women who are pregnant can cause abortion, premature birth, or birth defects. Uterine rupture has been reported when Misoprostol was administered in pregnant women to induce labor or to induce abortion beyond the eighth week of pregnancy.”

§         Women still live far away from hospitals and because they can not afford the health card, they will become part of the statistics

§         Men do not want their wives utilizing contraceptives or talking about family planning

 

What SHOULD BE done:

§         There is an urgent need to train more midwives and place them within rural areas

§         Poor pregnant women need access to health care; the “baby voucher” is a great idea and has had a positive effect with the women who are ABLE to obtain the card. Therefore, the rate for the card should either be reduced or given to these women for free. When this is done, more women will be able to obtain transportation to the hospital where they will receive the adequate care they need to have a safe delivery.

§         Both women and men need to be educated about contraceptives and their benefits and how to use them properly.

§         Women need to be educated about the different forms of delivery possible, such as C-sections. This type of education will help prevent cases such as an expectant mother who was already the mother of 12, came into the hospital for a delivery but left after she was referred for a C-section out of fear of being operated on. When she came back to the hospital, it was an emergency patient; she ended up losing one of the twins she was carrying.

 

Vital Voices: Civil Society in Guinea

In the mid 1950s, Martin Luther King, Jr. pushed for a substitution of  “tired feet for tired souls” to spur the Montgomery boycotts. With the brutality of the September 28th attacks in Guinea already behind us, it is difficult to take the focus off of the exhaustion of our souls in the fight for peace and fair governance.

Though the public health facilities reported the death toll at 56, official reports cite that 151 people were killed and at least another 1,200 were injured in stadium protests in Conakry led by the opposition. Brewing ethnic tensions may be keeping many away from hospitals, leaving additional wounded still uncounted. Women who have been victims of rape are in most need of counseling, which is currently underprovided. The renewed global commitment to protecting these women was made tangible by a unanimous vote on a UN resolution on sexual violence in conflict zones that occurred two days after the stadium attacks. The urgency for the implementation of this resolution is clear.

International schools in Conakry closed their doors on the 27th of September and most non-essential personnel of the diplomatic corps and international organizations have left Conkry. Guinean schools were re-scheduled to begin their academic year on October 15th, though it is not likely that they will open their doors in such a political climate

Yesterday marked the end of a two-day strike in the country called by trade unions to protest Camara’s leadership and successfully and nonviolently brought Conakry to a standstill as citizens stayed indoors and brought mining production, a major source of income, to a halt.

Politically, the situation continues to be difficult to navigate. Celou Dalein Diallo is the leader of the main opposition party and is currently in France recovering from injuries sustained at the stadium protests. Sidya Toure, a former prime minister, is the head of another opposition party, the Union of Republic Forces. The URF rejected Camara’s call for unity at the beginning of the month. Camara continues to express that though he is uncertain of whether he will stand for re-election, that his natural rights as a Guinean citizen should not obstruct such a decision. Given the outbreak of violence on the 28th, Toure and Guinean civil society find this to be an unacceptable possibility.

Pressure from the international community, though slightly late on the uptake, needs to grow from here with only four days left before the opposition’s deadline for Camara to announce his commitment to not be involved in the upcoming election cycle in January 2010. The EU’s development commissioner, Karel de Gucht has already begun calls for Camara to be held accountable for crimes against humanity.

My soul’s exhaustion is mostly caused by the anxiety of what may happen if actions taken to secure Guineans’ right to freely choose their own representation do not begin to gain more decisive momentum before Saturday. With my mother poised behind blue helmets but with little concern for self when faced with others’ suffering, the anxiety is heightened. With the prospect of the breakout of ethnic tensions—though quite unlikely—given how her Tutsi features translate in an environment hostile to the Fulani, my mind is all the more occupied. But the call for stable governance precedes this. The argument for civil society’s right to hold leaders accountable to promises made as they ascended to power is worth fighting for. After his successful coup in December, Camara promised to not stand for re-election stating, "We are patriots, not hungry for power. We don't intend to stay in power forever." The international community must show its respect for Guinean civil society through “tired feet” supporting humanitarian efforts in the country and by looking towards Saturday as a strict deadline.

By Martine Randolph, Africa Action

A Step in the Right Direction for Sudan?

On September 29th, 2009, the Associated Press reported that women and girls who escaped from the fighting in Darfur have become victims of rape within refugee camps, a disturbing trend found in countries torn apart by war. Refugee camps that should symbolized hope, freedom, and peace have become Darfari women’s nightmare. Getting water and firewood outside of the refugee camps in Chad is a known risk factor for women. When confronted with reports of rape within the Chad refugee camps, U.N. officials refused to comment. The next day, UN officials, led by Secretary of State Clinton, signed a resolution that condemned sexual violence in war zones.

Clinton stated,  “The United Nations had a special obligation to protect women and children, war's most vulnerable and violated victims." Yet, officials still refuse to acknowledge incidents in the Chad refugee camps.   The UN is not only to blame. The government spokesperson for Chad, Mahmat Hissene, stated, "Before the refugees came, we did not have rape cases in Chad; rape cases started when the Sudanese came. If there are cases of rape in the camps we cannot prevent them. The government is not responsible for security in the camps."  

In addition, through a lack of UN support, the United States is also complicit.

Therefore, the UN is posed with a difficult situation:  The Chadian government, the host of the majority of refugees in the region, blames the victims of violence. And while it is noble the U.S. signed a resolution that condemns sexual violence, more actual action is necessary to provide security for women in the region. Rape should not be an expected occurrence in one’s daily routine. 

The U.S. should take decisive action against sexual violence in refugee camps and support UNAMID so that the peacekeeping force can fulfill its mandate and those perpetrators of violence are held accountable. It is imperative that the United States keeps its promise, and protects these women.

Worry over Women’s Dress or sense of Empowerment?

It seems like every time you open the paper to the world section there is Sudan; another speculation of the south Sudanese war uprising once again, and my favorite, the war in Darfur is over. Imagine my surprise when I opened the New York Times on the 6th September, it read “Sudan Court to Define Indecent Dress for Women”. In the article, journalist and ex-employee at the United Nations Mission in Sudan, Lubna Hussein was arrested in Sudan for violating the dress code. According to the article, Hussein was arrested because her clothes were in violation of Article 152 of Sudan’s penal code that states, if caught wearing clothing deemed to be “indecent,” the perpetrator faces a fine and 40 lashes.

One of the witnesses stated, “[Hussein] was wearing pants and a blouse and the pants were tight and flashy and shows from underneath it the thighs and the outline and the form of the underwear and the color of her panties that can clearly be seen which is beige in color and short shirt with sleeves up to her elbow and it is transparent and light reflecting everything inside it within such as the shape and form of the bra and that the start of her chest is showing because the blouse opening and it also has two holes on the side lengthwise from top to bottom, and there is a gap between the confluence of the shirt so that they appear able to view the navel and the underwear of the accused.”

This incident is an example of a strong-willed woman undeterred by Sudanese Government officials who consistently try to repress the freedom of expression by limiting fundamental individual rights. Women in Sudan can no longer be invisible. Any efforts to create a sustainable peace in Sudan must include women. The absence of sufficient participation by women leaders was one major flaw in the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).

It is not exclusively Sudan where women because victims of sex crimes, or gross violations of human rights. Everyday there are undocumented cases of repression, like Hussein and yet the international community is still far from taking the necessary steps to protect women. This is not about clothing alone; this is the need for people in power, most often men, to restrict the movement of women by silencing them. Violence against women can take the form of silencing them by telling them to dress a certain way, or by physical violence such as rape, torture, abduction, or even psychological violence- making them feel ashamed of being a woman, making them outlaws to their families because they have “dishonored” them when they were raped or have become victims of human trafficking.

One positive step in stopping gender-based-violence was the August 18th announcement made by the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).  The UNAMID has set up a seven-member unit as a response to the alarming high rates of sexual and gender-based violence reported in Darfur over the last two years. This unit also seeks to encourage victims of violence to report incidents, reduce the stigmatization of sexual abuse victims and help to rehabilitate victims. This is a step in the right direction for the women of Darfur and all of Sudan, as they will investigate crimes against women such as child abuse, child abandonment, prostitution, human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual harassment. These women are the face and the future of Africa.

The U.S. government should support African efforts that address women’s empowerment and education. Secretary of State Clinton remarked in her New York Times interview on the empowerment of women in developing countries, “Democracy means nothing if half the people can’t vote, or if their vote doesn’t count, or if their literacy rate is so low that the exercise of their vote is in question. President Obama and I and the United States will not tolerate this continuation of wanton, senseless, brutal violence perpetrated against girls and women.”

While Clinton’s statement is encouraging and may attract people to become more interested in women’s rights in Africa, the Obama administration must fulfill these commitments and reflect more than just rhetoric.

"Pornographic" Maternal Mortality in Zambia

The news editor of Zambia’s largest independent newspaper is on trial for distributing obscene images. Pornography is illegal in Zambia, and Chansa Kabwela faces five years in prison if convicted.

The ‘obscene’ images? A mother in labor, the baby in breech, its entire body already outside the mother, but its head trapped. The baby eventually suffocated. Family members took the photographs as the woman lay on the grounds of Lusaka’s main hospital, unaided by any medical personnel as her child died. Outraged, Kabwela sent these photographs to Zambia’s vice-president, health minister and various rights groups to call attention to issues in the healthcare system as well as to call for an end to the nurses’ strike in the country. The Zambian president, Rupiah Banda, immediately labeled the pictures pornographic and the trial began.

Labeling the photographs pornographic is simply ludicrous, worthy of almost no discussion. The images, however, certainly are obscene. It is obscene that a woman should be left on the ground at a hospital without medical help. It is obscene that a child was allowed to die needlessly, when it could have been saved by a simple operation.  But it is a shameful travesty that those in the position to do something about a system that allowed this to happen choose to hide their heads in the sand. As if condemning reality will make it disappear.

These images have generated anger and repulsion; to have it be so misdirected as to prosecute the responsible disseminator of these on porn charges is a massive step backwards in the fight for maternal health and gender equality in Zambia. As New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof wrote in a July 2009 column, maternal mortality does not have to be an unfortunate given, a phenomenon that must be accepted. If men had uteruses and paternal mortality were a risk,“‘paternity wards’ would get resources, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of 8 industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority.”  Women are allowed to die in childbirth all around the world simply because they are women; disposable and voiceless as they are often forced to be, the political will simply does not extend to protecting them when their health is at its most vulnerable and precarious stage.

These Zambian politicians feel very self-righteous about ignoring the tragedy of inadequate maternal healthcare that is staring them in the face in graphic detail. One wonders what the reaction would have been if that woman had been a man instead; would the anger finally become a constructive force for the improvement of healthcare in Zambia?

 

 

The Double Lens of Development: Gendered Development and Rape

 A lot is said about advancing the cause of women worldwide, and it just makes sense. Studies have shown that when women are educated, given the right to make their own family planning choices and given economic opportunities, the fate of a country can be turned around. Sadly, no matter the economic, political, social and moral benefits that could come from treating women as equals, women are treated as expendable second-class citizens who nevertheless are expected to support families and communities. This is especially true in developing countries, where the role of the community and the family is intrinsically important to success, and survival in some cases.

This case for women’s equality is nothing new and has been made, almost ad nauseum, for decades. What is so disturbing is that no matter what is said, no matter what is shown, no matter how convincing the argument seems to be, the status of women worldwide remains untouched. This is not a concern uniquely placed onto the shoulders of developing countries; even the wealthiest and most educated countries have failed to protect women to the extent possible. Whether cultural relativism provides a facile argument for oppressive male leaders, an argument that will not often be challenged for fear of appearing politically incorrect, or the collective global political will has simply not caught up with the times and the facts, women are still caught in an ongoing struggle against their oppression.

Nothing symbolizes the unequal power dynamics of the genders more than the very manifestation of oppression and power: rape and sexual violence against women. A new study conducted by South Africa’s Medical Research Council provides a striking and horrifying case study of sexual violence within a population.

This was a study of 1,738 men in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces in South Africa; they were men of all racial groups from both rural and urban areas. The shocking findings were that one in four men said they had raped someone; nearly half admitted to more than one attack. The first assault was before the age of 20 for 73% of the respondents. One in 20 men surveyed said that they had raped a woman or girl in the past year. Gang rape is reportedly common; it is seen as a form of male bonding.

South Africa has one of the highest numbers of reported rapes in the world; a child is being raped in South Africa every three minutes, though the vast majority of the cases go unreported.

Rape is a manifestation of a need for power more than it is of sexual desire; it makes sense that men who may feel powerless in an economy that does not provide enough opportunities for them to support themselves or their families or in a political system that stifles their voices and prevents them from living lives of dignity may be more prone to unleashing their frustrations on the even less powerful women around them. Providing more economic opportunities and offering men a voice could potentially be an avenue for improvement that could help spare women in an indirect way. But will women really have to wait until the male condition is improved before they are free of the risk of being raped and abused?

Projects that make an economy more sustainable and governance more efficient are great, but are at their core a generic response. A country that is in a state of transition or development can be a country that can rewrite not only its formal laws, but also its cultural mores and social priorities. For reasons that have been presented countless times, women’s equality falls just short of being a silver bullet for the ills that ail, especially in countries that are already struggling; falling just short is a lot better than what we currently have up our sleeves.

Giving men power in healthy ways can help in protecting women from becoming the countless victims of frustrations and can even help those countries that are developing their economies and governance structures. However, taking away some of the “reasons” for the high rates of rape by enabling and empowering men is not doing much for women. Their safety and sexual choices will forever be at the whims of the men around them if development does not have a gendered approach. Poverty affects men and women differently; development projects can be successful if and when those differences are evaluated and considered during the course of implementation. Women in developing countries are often not necessarily the heads of household, but are certainly the caretakers of the family. Enabling women to make a living that does not involve begging or prostitution, sustainable and safe work that can pay for their children’s education, birth control methods and put food on the table is a step towards empowerment. Education opportunities that allow women to know their rights and defend them when necessary and health care systems that ensure safe pregnancies and deliveries while providing everyday preventative care lead to empowerment.

Every aspect of development must be seen through the double lens of gender; what can be done for education so that it is the best it can be for both girls and boys? What can be done within the health care system so both men and women are protected and offered the care and information they need? How can governance systems adequately represent both men and women’s interests while advancing the development of the country as a whole?

Gendered development cannot be the side note or the supplementary report to umbrella development projects. The development of men and the development of women can happen simultaneously and in a parallel fashion, in hopes that this empowerment of both will meet at some point in a future egalitarian and human rights observant state. Developing countries have their struggles and their challenges to achieving success and stability; there is also a blank slate intrinsic to the development process that could change the future of the populations, and most importantly, of its women. Development can never guarantee the end of sexual violence, but the empowerment that comes with gendered development will do wonders to decrease its frequency. 

South African activist and popular singer, Miriam Makeba has died

Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa, a renowned international singer-songwriter and activist who spoke out against Apartheid and lived in exile for almost three decades, died this past Sunday after a performance in Italy. Africa Action's Gerald LeMelle talks about her life and legacy on KPFK's Uprising Radio here. Below is a clip from her address to the UN in 1964.