Ankylosing Spondylitis in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Series of 48 Cases Reported in Burkina Faso (West Africa)

The 1918–19 influenza pandemic killed between 30 and 50 million people worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as Terence Ranger points out, the pandemic left an indelible mark, including the unforeseen emergence of anti-medical religious movements. None were as significant as Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the Philadelphia-based divine-healing church that spurred a massive revival in West Africa – and a network stretching from Ivory Coast to Nigeria – without ever sending missionaries. They evangelised through personal letters exchanged across the Atlantic, and Faith Tabernacle literature sent from Philadelphia to various leaders in West Africa. The 1918–19 influenza pandemic was the spark that led to the church's massive growth, from one small branch before the pandemic began in 1918 to 10,500 members and nearly 250 branches of Faith Tabernacle in West Africa at its zenith in 1926. After the church's rapid demise between 1926 and 1929, leaders of Faith Tabernacle established most of the oldest Pentecostal Churches in the Gold Coast and Nigeria – such as the Apostolic Faith, the Apostolic Church, the Christ Apostolic Church and the Assemblies of God (Nigeria). Classical Pentecostalism, therefore, is Faith Tabernacle's legacy in West Africa, while abstinence from orthodox medicine continued to be debated within these Pentecostal circles.

Download Full-text

Contraceptive dynamics during COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: longitudinal evidence from Burkina Faso and Kenya

BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health ◽

10.1136/bmjsrh-2020-200944 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. bmjsrh-2020-200944

Author(s):

Celia Karp ◽

Shannon N Wood ◽

Georges Guiella ◽

Peter Gichangi ◽

Suzanne O Bell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Burkina Faso ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Universal Access ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Contraceptive Services ◽

Logistic Regressions ◽

Sub Saharan

IntroductionEvidence from health emergencies suggests COVID-19 will disrupt women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In sub-Saharan Africa, which experiences the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion globally, COVID-19 is projected to slow recent progress toward universal access to contraceptive services.MethodsWe used longitudinal data collected from women at risk of unintended pregnancy in Burkina Faso (n=1186) and Kenya (n=2784) before (November 2019–February 2020) and during (May–July 2020) COVID-19 to quantify contraceptive dynamics during COVID-19; examine sociodemographic factors and COVID-19 experiences related to contraceptive dynamics; and assess COVID-19-related reasons for contraceptive non-use. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine correlates of contraceptive dynamics amid COVID-19.ResultsMost women did not change their contraceptive status during COVID-19 (68.6% in Burkina Faso and 81.6% in Kenya) and those who did were more likely to adopt a method (25.4% and 13.1%, respectively) than to discontinue (6.0% and 5.3%, respectively). Most women who switched contraceptives were using methods as or more effective than their pre-pandemic contraception. Economic instability related to COVID-19 was associated with increased contraceptive protection in Burkina Faso but not in Kenya. Altogether, 14.4% of non-contraceptive users in Kenya and 3.8% in Burkina Faso identified COVID-19-related reasons for non-use.ConclusionsThe vast majority of women at risk of unintended pregnancy did not change their contraceptive status during COVID-19, and more women adopted than discontinued methods. A minority of women reported COVID-19-related reasons for non-use, underscoring the importance of expanding safe modes of service delivery during health crises.

Download Full-text

Wealth-related inequalities in demand for family planning satisfied among married and unmarried adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa

Reproductive Health ◽

10.1186/s12978-021-01076-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Martin K. Mutua ◽

Yohannes D. Wado ◽

Monica Malata ◽

Caroline W. Kabiru ◽

Elsie Akwara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Planning ◽

West Africa ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Young Women ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Demographic And Health Surveys ◽

Sexually Active ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background The use of modern contraception has increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the extent to which changes have occurred across the wealth spectrum among adolescents is not well known. We examine poor-rich gaps in demand for family planning satisfied by modern methods (DFPSm) among sexually active adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) using data from national household surveys. Methods We used recent Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to describe levels of wealth-related inequalities in DFPSm among sexually active AGYW using an asset index as an indicator of wealth. Further, we used data from countries with more than one survey conducted from 2000 to assess DFPSm trends. We fitted linear models to estimate annual average rate of change (AARC) by country. We fitted random effects regression models to estimate regional AARC in DFPSm. All analysis were stratified by marital status. Results Overall, there was significant wealth-related disparities in DFPSm in West Africa only (17.8 percentage points (pp)) among married AGYW. The disparities were significant in 5 out of 10 countries in Eastern, 2 out of 6 in Central, and 7 out of 12 in West among married AGYW and in 2 out of 6 in Central and 2 out of 9 in West Africa among unmarried AGYW. Overall, DFPSm among married AGYW increased over time in both poorest (AARC = 1.6%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 1.4%, p < 0.001) households and among unmarried AGYW from poorest households (AARC = 0.8%, p = 0.045). DPFSm increased over time among married and unmarried AGYW from poorest households in Eastern (AARC = 2.4%, p < 0.001) and Southern sub-regions (AARC = 2.1%, p = 0.030) respectively. Rwanda and Liberia had the largest increases in DPFSm among married AGYW from poorest (AARC = 5.2%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 5.3%, p < 0.001) households respectively. There were decreasing DFPSm trends among both married (AARC = − 1.7%, p < 0.001) and unmarried (AARC = − 4.7%, p < 0.001) AGYW from poorest households in Mozambique. Conclusion Despite rapid improvements in DFPSm among married AGYW from the poorest households in many SSA countries there have been only modest reductions in wealth-related inequalities. Significant inequalities remain, especially among married AGYW. DFPSm stalled in most sub-regions among unmarried AGYW.

Download Full-text

Evaluating the Potential of Underdeveloped Land for Rice Production in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Case Study of Floodplains in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa

Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly JARQ ◽

10.6090/jarq.51.77 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 77-84

Author(s):

Keiichi HAYASHI ◽

Yasuhiro TSUJIMOTO ◽

Tamao HATTA ◽

Yukiyo YAMAMOTO ◽

Jun-Ichi SAKAGAMI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

West Africa ◽

Northern Region ◽

Rice Production ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan

Download Full-text

An Historical Assessment and Analysis of Economic Imperialism in West Africa

Journal of Labor and Society ◽

10.1163/24714607-bja10020 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale ◽

Natewinde Sawadogo

Keyword(s):

West Africa ◽

Civil Wars ◽

National Development ◽

West African ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Skilled Workers ◽

The West ◽

West African Coast ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Economic Imperialism

Abstract The West African political economy has been shaped by the policies, decisions and actions of dominant European imperialist countries since about over 500 years. Starting with imperial merchant capitalism along the West African coast in the 16th Century and French gradual acquisition of Senegal as a colony as from 1677, West Africa has remained under the imperialist hold. West Africa remains economically dependent on its former colonial masters despite more than 60 years since the countries started gaining independence. The consequences of economic imperialism on West Africa have included exploitative resource extraction, proxy and resource influenced civil wars, illegal trade in natural resources, mass poverty, and external migration of skilled workers necessary for national development. The world sees and broadcasts poverty, starvation, conflict and Saharan migration in the West African sub-continent, but hardly reports the exploitative imperialistic processes that have produced poverty and misery in West Africa in particular and across sub-Saharan Africa in general.

Download Full-text