African Technology ForumSM
The Information
Source for Science and Technology in
Our Health Care Crisis
Volume 7 No. 1
FEATURES - Health Care in Africa
How African Countries Rank in
Health Care
Preventing Unnecessary Death
Jane Wahome
Up to one million Africans, mostly
children below the age of five, die from malaria every year. About 40,000
people become permanently blind from onchocerciasis [river blindness]. Tens of
thousands die from trypanosomiasis [sleeping sickness], and many more from
leishmaniases, leprosy, schistosomiases and filariases, among other diseases.
Can we prevent all these unwanted deaths?
Mortality in Africa
Khaitsa Wasiyo
Although there is still a long way
to go, Africa's health status in terms of adult and infant life expectancy is
constantly improving. Before we can begin developing effective programs to
increase life expectancy, we must first understand the causes and extent of
mortality.
Improving the Nutritional Status
of the African Child.
J. Ngo Som
Nearly 4 million children in Africa
die each year before they reach the age of five, mainly due to malnutrition and
related diseases. Today, despite some progress made, malnutrition still remains
the major public health issue in children aged 0 to 5 years.
Improving Health Care Using
Satellite Communications.
John Metzger
Physicians in Tanzania, Mozambique,
and Uganda are using a telecommunications system called Health Net to consult
with one another on treatments, organize workshops, and communicate with
international organizations.
Advances in Traditional Medicine
in Ghana
Peter Kobina Owu
George Daniel Koranteng heads Apaak
Traditional Medicines, a company involved in herbal medical research and
treatment. He has gained a reputation as a man committed to the positive
development of traditional African medicine.
AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa:
Epidemiology and Prospects for Prevention
David J. Hunter
Why has HIV spread so rapidly in
Africa? The answer to this question is vital to determine the most appropriate
interventions to slow the spread of the epidemic.
Malaria-Resurgent Hopes for a
Timeless Plague
John A. Selormey
Malaria remains the most
significant killer disease in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease kills as many as
3 million annually. Recent research efforts suggest that effective treatment
may be on the way.
Cooking Can Kill: An Update on
Extreme Smoke Exposure from Tradition Cooking Fuels
Daniel M. Kammen
Biomass fuels are frequently burned
in confined indoor environments on traditional stoves; a combination that can
result in high concentrations of pollutants. Technology dissemination schemes
and other efforts designed to combat this health crisis are critically needed.
New Treatments for Sickle Cell
Anemia
William P. Winter and Junius G.
Adams, III
Eighty years after sickle cell
anemia came to the attention of Western medicine, there is still no
comprehensive treatment for it, although patient care techniques have improved
vastly. New research points the way to some exciting possible treatments.
Human Resources
Privatization in Africa
William J. Hartnett
The economic landscape is shifting
as countries around the world abandon nationalization in favor of
privatization. Although privatization is seen as a way to streamline government
and improve economic growth, the path has proven difficult.
Methods of Privatization
Frederick W. Kwoba
Privatization has become the
dominant economic theme in the structural adjustment reforms prescribed for
Africa by the World Bank and the IMF. If privatization has been touted as the
panacea to Africa's economic development problems, why is it at a standstill?
Information Systems
Why Governments Need Access to
Computer Networks [Part 2]
George Sadowsky
Individuals and organizations
working toward international connectivity for their countries need to
demonstrate how having such connectivity will directly address the needs of
government ministries and will contribute to achieving the development objectives
of the country.
Environment Watch
The Environment Price of Oil :
Petroleum Resource Development and the Nigerian Environment
Adebayo Aina & Tunde
Akingbade
Oil exploration over the years has
made Nigeria the seventh largest producer of oil in the world. The
environmental impact of onshore and offshore petroleum exploitation and
development operations is a matter of concern to the public, government, and
the industry in Nigeria.
Opinion
Editor's Notes
Tech Notes
New Roles for UNDP
Running Just to Stay in Place:
Water, Health and the Environment
Book Review
A Valuable Resource for US
Businesses in Africa
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