A Poisonous Cocktail in a Perfect Storm

If the worst predictions of our scientific community come to pass,Africa may be facing a poisonous cocktail of natural and man made events that will have a calamitous impact. And while the Africans themselves will bear some of the blame for their predicament, the developed world will have to take most of the credit. Certainly, Africa was the victim of Western colonialism and imperialism that set up artificial borders, broke down indigenous leadership and loyalties, plundered the continents resources and enslaved its people. While the west has sought to compensate through bilateral and multilateral AID projects, the effects have been mixed and at times have hurt as much as helped. And in no case has the assistance been overly generous.

On this background, the record of African leadership, with some exceptions has been too often marked by corruption and exploitation of the people for personal gain and status. And traditional enmities and prejudices have been played out with extraordinary violence as outbreaks of genocide. The international community has been either absent, as in the case of Rwanda, or ineffective, as in Somalia and Darfur. The UN has been frozen out or AWOL and the African Union too fragmented, unprepared and under funded to pick up the slack.

It is not only human depredations that have inflicted the continent. Since the 1980’s Africa has been developing a cancer in the form of HIV/AIDS. Immediate attention could have prevented thousands of deaths, but for many in the West it was a disease of druggies and homosexuals, and among some there was a belief in God’s wrath being visited. Part of the fuel that keeps the pandemic burning is prostitution and dirty needles, but the largest donor to AIDS programs, the United States refuses, by law to support clean needle programs or programs to provide health care specifically targeted at prostitutes. Politics at home, which have nothing to do with Africa’s problems are defining America’s approach. As a result of HIV/AIDS Africa’s ranks of security and health care workers are being thinned while the security and health problems mount.

If Africa was now hit with an influenza pandemic like Avian Flu, and if the predictions are even close to correct, the health care facilities would be overwhelmed in a matter of days. Doctors and nurses have been educated and trained in Africa and they have emigrated to the West for better salaries. With a pandemic the needs of the West backed by the dollars of the West would act as a magnet for remaining trained personnel, at least the ones that do not succumb to the influenza themselves. There would be little help from vaccines that have yet to be developed and antivirals that could save lives are in short supply, manufactured and stockpiled in the West and destined by politics to save lives in the West.  And because the virus would be carried by people, transportation systems would be shut down as countries and cities sought to protect themselves. The Bubonic plague wiped out a third of Europe. The Avian flue could wipe out a third of Africa.

Africa is a continent that is highly sensitive to the weather. Much of the farming in large parts of Africa is subsistence and highly vulnerable to drought. Global warming has captured the headlines, but the effects and timing are still dimly understood by the average American. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report says: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,…” With that warming will come significant changes in water supplies and growing seasons. Africa is specified as a continent that will be particularly hard hit. Localized starvation is already a problem in parts of Africa so any increase in temperatures and reduction in water resources could have disastrous results. Up to now, the international community has been able to respond to starvation when access is assured, but if the world is faced with an influenza pandemic, access will not be assured and widespread starvation is likely. At the same time, warming has been shown to spread and intensify many diseases that currently plague Africa. As water supplies dwindled clean water would be harder to find and diarrhoeal diseases would run rampant among children and infants causing countless deaths.  Cardio-respiratory and infectious diseases would intensify their grip while respirators and drug supplies proved inadequate to the enlarged task. With medical facilities and resources already stretched by HIV/AIDs, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases, and other tropical diseases like West Nile virus, Africa would face a complete breakdown in public health with massive death rates and severe economic impact.

One thing is clear, the international community does not have the coordination, planning, funds, cooperation, organization and political will to deal with such a perfect storm of biblical plagues in Africa and other less developed regions in the world. And there seems to be little inclination by the leading Western countries to care. While the West would not be immune from such disasters, we have the resources in wealth, technology and trained people to adapt to climate change and deal with massive medical emergencies. And so it may come to pass, that Africa, suffers the consequences of the smokestack industries in China the gas guzzlers of the United States and the inheritance of European colonialism and imperialism.

Comments

[Emily Byron]

This comment only speaks to one of the many large-scale crises currently facing Africa—the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Too often governments’ potential to have an impact on major health care crises are altered by “morals” politics and drug companies’ ability to manipulate policies to maximize their profits. At the end of his presidency, AIDS activists gave President Clinton an “F” on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. President Bush’s PEPFAR deserves recognition for the large AID sum and the number of saved lives it promises. Under both leaders, the U.S. restricts the flow of aid to the groups with the highest risk, drug users and prostitutes. Domestic and international clean needle programs have the potential to significantly slow the spread of HIV and decrease prevalence. In the late 1990s, Congress demanded evidence that clean needles would not promote drug use before redirecting HIV aid, but the chance never came before the new administration.

Uganda has had considerable success with its ABCs of prevention. The slogan “Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condom use” and the programs behind it have caused the country’s rate of infection to plummet. Unfortunately, social conservatives tend to misconstrue the relationship between the A, B, and C, and de-emphasize condom use in favor of promoting abstinence values. Sounds familiar to abstinence-only education in U.S. schools, doesn’t it?

Many women worldwide exercise little or no control over their sex lives and the practice of their partners. If they rely on their partners’ abilities to “Be faithful,” they are at increased risk. Even if governments condemn prostitution, they cannot ignore the fact that female sex workers are at an increased risk and in turn place entire populations at further risk. In domestic and international policy and programs, government officials should hurry up and come to terms with the realities of people’s sexuality, and target prevention efforts at populations at the highest risk.

[Sarah Cornblath]

Africa has been plagued with problems since the Western powers divided and colonized the continent like a giant cake. Each colonizing country took the parts of Africa it found most desirable, ignoring indigenous ties and grouping tribes with a history of hatred. This colonial legacy continues to plague Africa today. From Rwanda to Darfur and Somalia, the effects of colonization have led to genocide, disease and famine. Furthermore, the Western powers who caused all these problems are continuing to ignore Africa today. While evidence of the AIDS crisis was obvious as early as the 1980s, countries like the Unites States, Great Britain, and international organizations like the United Nations ignored the problem, brushing it off as a disease of homosexuals and drug addicts. This has only caused more problems for Africa, allowing the disease to spread to the point that is affecting not only those directly infected, but their families and communities as well. AIDS is killing off millions of people as well as providing for the spread of other diseases through continued use of contaminated needles as well as practices of unsafe sex. However, AIDS could soon become the least of Africa’s worries. Doctors and other health care workers are fleeing the country for higher salaries in the West, depleting much needed resources in a country which badly needs all the health care officials it can get. This depletion of medical resources means that if Africa were ever hit with another pandemic, such as Influenza, the results would be disastrous. What people in other countries often fail to realize, is that diseases in Africa actually can and will affect us thousands of miles away. An influenza pandemic in Africa could not only spread to Western countries, but will deplete resources around the world as other countries struggle to either combat the disease or prevent it from entering their borders. Additionally, pandemics have economic ramifications, trade and travel will grind to a halt and countries around the world will suffer severe economic ramifications. Instead of ignoring the problems in Africa and continuing to believe that our efforts are sufficient, countries in the West as well as the UN need to step up their efforts and actually try to solve these problems instead of pretending to act. The problems of Africa are the problems of the world and they will not be effectively solved until our world leaders realize this.

[John Cloonan]

Though difficult to pinpoint which African issue is the most "poisonous", there is no denying that multiple dangers exist, and that insufficient action has occurred. While violence, disease, and famine run rampant throughout Africa, the international community debates action instead of taking it. Unfortunately it is the African people that suffer from this hesitancy, and the American people that promote it. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the many of these evils are encouraged by international sources. European colonialism and imperialism helped initiate regional/ethnic dispute, international resource demands have motivated corruption, and economically encouraged pollution has contributed to global warming effects. Despite this international involvement in African tribulations, a significant movement of response has yet to be observed.
The scary truth of the situation is that things are only getting worse. According to the World Health Organization, 24.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have the AIDS virus. Reaction to this statistic has been hampered by US policy neglect of the true pandemic source, needles and prostitution. If an avian flu pandemic were to occur, a percentage of Africans would die similar to that of the bubonic plague. Civil wars are also contributing to this death count through both the associated violence, and the strain they place upon health services. In the past two years, civil war alone has caused the death of more than 1.7 million people in eastern Congo alone. All the while, global warming [fueled by international industry] has been exacerbating these problems. Depletion of agricultural resources has facilitated more frequent regional conflict, and hastened the dispersal of disease. Whether unilateral, multilateral, or independent, some form of response must be taken to address these issues. If not for our involvement in the creation of these problems, than for the humanitarian fundamentals our nation has historically embraced. Although these issues create a crisis cocktail for Africa today, neglect could result in the same fate for us tomorrow.

[Niels Lesniewski]

According to CDC figures from 2006, 64% of HIV/AIDS victims on this planet live in sub-Saharan regions of Africa. No one currently supplies this population with enough antiretroviral medication to allow many of these people to live fulfilling lives. Charitable outreach organizations around the world are now raising money to purchase insecticide-treated nets for Africans to sleep under, to help protect against malaria-infected mosquitoes. Neither providing sufficient supplies of antiretrovirals nor these nets would cost the international community a tremendous amount of money, but the current cost-benefit analysis works against such action.

Avian flu may change that calculation. HIV has mutated over the years, but except for some rare “killer” strains, the American drug researchers have stayed ahead of the curve. We know that the flu mutates constantly and can quickly gain resistance to the antiviral medications. The outbreak in Vietnam last year included cases that were resistant to Tamiflu, the newest class of drugs. The west might have the incentive this time to eradicate the avian flu whenever it pops up anywhere in the world because in this globalized world people travel everywhere. Thomas Friedman might not want to admit it but, “when the world is flat” anyone could fall victim to a contagious disease.

The bigger incentive to treat avian flu in its early human-to-human transmission phase may be to engage in experimental drug testing so that if an outbreak occurs in Kansas City, the CDC would have a variety of classes of medication in case of the dreaded resistant strain. Of course, my entire suggestion would go for not if an American pharmaceutical giant found a be-all-and-end-all vaccination for most every strain of the avian flu. At that point, the incentive would exist to inoculate the entire population of the United States, like we already strive for with MMR and polio, but not necessarily elsewhere.

If anyone finds that magic vaccine, please let me know . . . I would like to purchase some stock in the company holding the patent before the mad rush!

[Tim Noyes]

Though the U.S. should be giving significant aid to African countries on strictly humanitarian grounds, I believe that it is to our political advantage to do so as well. It’s well known that many countries within the continent are severely unstable and in light of Ambassador Walker’s article, it seems the situation may continue to degenerate. If our involvement in the Middle East has taught us anything, it is that instability within a nation breeds terror and that poor living conditions can inspire the rise of dangerous organizations that would otherwise remain relatively marginal.
Violent acts in more than a half dozen countries south of the Sahara, as well as suicide bombings in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria to the north, all point to a pressing problem. If the U.S. devotes itself to a generous aid program in Africa, we can address not only the escalating humanitarian crisis, but also provide stability to what is already a volatile region before it’s too late. If we fail to act, we can only expect the number of extremist organizations in Africa to increase.

[Meaghan LaVange]

“I Bless the Rains Down in Africa
Gonna Take Some Time to Do the Things We Never Had”

One of the biggest problems in Africa right now is AIDS. Out of the 39.4 million people who have this infectious disease, 29.4 live in sub-Sahara Africa. Although, many organizations are making donations to help combat this disease, it is still spreading throughout the majority of the southern portion of the continent. What is frightening is that a solution is not clear. Many Africans with this disease can not afford the treatment and many women do not have access to condoms or other forms of contraceptive measures to protect themselves. It is unfortunate that this disease is affecting women and children more so than others because they are the future in terms of reproduction for the continent. In terms of how it is affecting the children of Africa, 10 million out the 13 million orphans live in Africa. All of these facts, paint an ugly picture.
The United States has taken an aggressive stance against AIDS by trying to implement president bush’s PEPFAR emergency AIDS relief program. This program calls for 15 billion dollars in AIDS relief over the next five years. The majority of the money (55%) will be put towards treating people with AIDS. However, there are many limitations with this program. Religious groups such as the Right to Life movement are pressuring the government to teach abstinence versus contraceptive ( condom) protection. Also, the number of doctors in Africa available to treat this infectious disease are hardly enough to control the disease. Any good doctor has left Africa and migrated to the west where they can make $200 dollars a day which is unthinkable in Africa. Because they administration has had problems getting approval for AIDS drugs from the Food and Drug Administration treatment in Africa has not been as effective.
However, despite the limitations of PEPFAR, 15 billion is the most generous amount of money ever to be spent on an AIDS relief program. Because Africa is corrupt, many citizens in America doubt that are donations are only getting to the right people. This article also mentions many other threats to the people in African besides AIDS. Not only are they threatened by AIDS, other diseases like Malaria and even diarrhea are killing people at startling rates. Besides disease—there’s also global warming. Many of the nations are prone to drought which will have a direct impact of the agriculture sectors because it will decrease the production of crops. Without water or crops many farmers will go bankrupt. On top of going bankrupt, when the water supply becomes more polluted more people will get sick and potentially lose their lives. Protection against terrorism is also a problem because the amount of corruption in this region. In conclusion, AIDS, Malaria, Diarrhea, global warming, terrorism, poverty-- it appears that the problems are endless for this continent. So what do we do? I’m not sure that is it the responsibility of the United States to solve this problem single handedly. Other developed countries need to work with the United States so we can provide sufficient funds so we can be sure that the money will land into the hands of doctors and education.

[Tori Simmons]

Africa and other underdeveloped areas experience numerous difficulties and the conditions of the world today are definitely not helping the situation in Africa. Foreign aid for health care will have to be changed drastically in order for at least some improvements to be made. In order to improve some of the African facilities, developed countries, such as the United States should at least help pay the nurses and doctors in order to prevent them from moving west for a higher paycheck. A huge problem that is preventing the developed countries from helping is they are not interested in the health problems of Africa, as many of the developed countries even ignore their own health issues. But it will protect people around the world by helping to prevent the spread of disease. Developed countries and the UN need to increase the amount of aid programs going into Africa even if the benefits are not immediate or nonexistent. The UN has to pick and choose their battles but if they are willing to interfere and provide aid when people are suffering due to human rights issues or internal conflicts, then they should interfere when people are suffering from diseases.

The UN and developed countries may think that the health problems in Africa is not worth the time and money because they are dealing with global warming and cases involving human rights issues. In the long run the health and AID problem in Africa could end up becoming a global issue rather than one limited to underdeveloped countries. As globalization contributed to the problem in Africa, it may be the culprit for a future global pandemic that affects people in both developed and underdeveloped countries. With the amount of travel and trade in the world today bacteria and viruses are easily spread. If there is an outbreak in Africa the disease will travel even if transportation and trade are shut down. Even if an outbreak doesn’t happen it is important for everyone, including Africa, to be somewhat prepared, so if a deadly disease does hit the deaths can be minimized. Every country, whether developed or not, has countless issues leaving less room to help suffering countries, but the problems in Africa are piling up and they cannot solve them all on their own.

[Katherine Painter]

The post “Poisonous Cocktail in a Perfect Storm” outlines a whole host of problems that Africa faces every day from HIV/AIDS to climate change to preparedness for epidemic flues. Various scholars and observers want to paint the picture of a hopeless Africa, one that is lucky to deserve any Western aid, however small the donations may be. This portrayal distances us from the reality of the situation and the fact that many leaders and individuals are ready and willing to tackle problems head on (if only they had the funds to do so). A fatalistic mindset of a hopeless Africa gets us nowhere in trying to brainstorm solutions towards a very convoluted mess.

As far as the HIV/AIDS epidemic goes, some governments have actively taken great strides to address the issue publicly and productively. Uganda’s President Museveni has been able to retain power in the face of armed rebellion because of the heavy support he receives domestically and internationally for dealing with the AIDS crisis rather than denying it like President Mbeki of South Africa. Many grassroots organizations in the United States have taken up AIDS as an important cause and this sense of social activism should not be overlooked. Programs such as Project Red utilize America’s voracious materialism for charitable projects in Africa. The Gates Foundation has been instrumental in keeping the AIDS discussion front and center on the international agenda as well as tackling a host of other health issues on the continent. Even if Western governments are slow to give aid or technical support, many concerned organizations and individuals are stepping up their efforts in the absence of government involvement.

That Africa remains at the periphery of international attention is no reason to write off the entire continent as a hopeless mess. The international community must assume some sort of general responsibility about the current condition of Africa a result of colonial and imperial legacies which are coupled with mixed humanitarian intervention responses to various issues (genocide, AIDS, civil war, etc). We could use our robust pioneering American spirit and sense of boundless innovation to tackle the myriad of problems rather than leaving the continent to fester isolated and forgotten (a decision that has racial implications). I believe we do have the resources to deal effectively with at least some of Africa’s problems. We also have the grassroots support for helping Africa’s further development. We just need to summon the efforts of our world leaders. I do not deny it quite idyllic to assume we can make any substantial difference in solving Africa’s problems. We should, however, do whatever we can and watch those plans succeed or falter rather than sit by idly and do nothing at all.

[Bo Armstrong]

The “poisonous cocktail” well on its way to polluting Africa’s well being sounds to me like a margarita without the salt; there’s plenty of kick with nothing to ease the bite.

Africa is undeniably at serious risk of further catastrophe, and the global community will have to take the blame, because Africa’s own regimes are too weak to properly respond. However, deferring the blame to better-equipped governments and countries does nothing but exacerbate the current problem; you don’t get anywhere by imposing blame on others.

Africa is in dire need of help and guidance. While the international community may not have the planning, funds, cooperation, organization, and political will to deal with Africa’s ill-fate, it does have a wealth of knowledge to cope with natural and manmade disasters, as well as a humanitarian obligation, to help those who are so desperate.

A prime example of this is the increasing danger of Africa’s dwindling safe water supply that is mentioned in the article. With the climate changes will come significant changes in water supplies and growing seasons, which could potentially be a great danger to the health of many Africans. Believe it or not, Texans here in America face a similar problem right now, only you don’t hear as much about it because the West has the wealth and technology to handle such an issue. Ex-oil tycoon and entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens has sought to put an end to this fear in Texas by drilling for groundwater and then sending it through pipelines to cities across North Texas. Africa also has a prevalent groundwater supply, but it is slowly being destroyed by private operations that lack the funds and education to drill for the water properly. This is just one, very small example of where the West could step in and make a substantial difference on something that seems so mundane. Educate the governments of African countries as to how to properly drill for water. With this knowledge in the hands of the right people (whether it’s the government or not), the water issue could be staved off, lives could be saved, and there could be some economic gains as well. This is a proactive approach and isn’t just temporary –it makes far more sense than celebrities shipping in crate after crate of Poland Springs.

And yet, like a festering alcoholic, Africa continues to gulp down its poisonous concoction. Unless the West makes more substantial, well thought out attempts to help its neighbor in need, Africa will sadly continue its demise.

[Beth Kelly]

Africa is an anomolous region of the world today. No other place has the African political and environmental climates, which are coming to a dangerous head. It doesn't help that the western (or, perhaps just American) stereotype of Africa is a backward society without any modern technology and worst of all, no hope. While celebrity endorsements against AIDS have brought some much-needed attention to Africa, the efforts are not enough. The US government, a holder of so much money, needs to listen to the people it represents: we think the US should help out in Africa, at least judging by the people with whom I have discussed and my peers' comments here.

What the US government needs is a new approach. While I don't support many of the current regime's decisions, I do admire that money has not been given to support programs that the leaders don't like, such as supplying clean needles. Personally, I think that's a wonderful idea that shows promise for alleviating some exacerbation of AIDS, but I do not expect my government to do something it doesn't morally support.

That said, the US has an obligation to do something about Africa, and here I agree with Tim Noyes, that establishing and maintaining order should be our highest priorities in Africa. The US's obligation in that respect, is not our's alone, but every nation's. A multinational support effort for Africa would eliminate the possibility of other countries hating specifically the US, provide a larger pool of resources from which to draw, and ensure that everyone has a stake in the risks.

[Doug Phillips]

I agree with your point that many different issues are brewing in Africa and that large populations are vulnerable to catastrophic events, such as an Avian Flu epidemic. Africa already struggles from political instability in multiple countries, civil war in Liberia, and militia warfare in Darfur. The continent does not need, and is certainly not prepared for, outbreaks of such biblical proportions. The question is, how can the international community prevent such outbreaks or help contain them to small proportions when they occur?
Western countries have little desire to involve themselves with the majority of issues affecting Africa. Despite proclaimed humanitarian intentions, Western states will never care much about Africa because there are few economic or political incentives to attract their attention. It seems to me that the best way for African nation’s to manage their HIV/AIDS problem and minimize the devastation caused by possible Avian Flu epidemic is to make it attractive for doctors who are trained domestically to practice in Africa. There needs to be some sort of incentive to prevent this intellectual capital from emigrating to Western countries. Perhaps The U.N. might consider providing subsides or offering grants to doctors that agree to remain in African states instead of taking higher paid jobs elsewhere. Such a program would not only help prevent some doctors from leaving, but it would also encourage more people to pursue medicine rather than other vocations.

[Sara Feuerstein]

Ambassador Walker does a succinct and thorough job of cataloging the biggest problems facing Africa today- corrupt governments, the AIDS affliction, susceptibility to an Avian Flu pandemic, and the effects of climate change; however, the Ambassador comes down too harshly on developed countries for not doing enough. The African continent is the largest recipient of donor aid in the world, and while aid programs may not be 100% effective in addressing all of the aforementioned problems, the blog posting downplays real money, action, and programs currently benefiting Africa.

The United Sates alone donates countless tons of food, trains farmers, businessmen, and government officials to be more effective in their lines of work, builds and supplies schools, educates women, helps citizens to form community action groups, and gives millions of dollars to HIV/AIDS prevention and care. While the U.S. is not aiming healthcare at prostitutes and is not supplying needles to junkies, ask any one of the hundreds of thousands of AIDS victims that have been treated with U.S. dollars whether they thought it was a good use of money.

This blog posting claims that the developed countries are not doing enough to help Africa—and rightfully so—however, it demands immediate solutions to multiple, complex problems. Donors are currently taking (billions of dollars worth of) baby steps. But once this aid money effectively builds the foundations of society, Africa will be better equipped to deal with its own problems…and still, the faucet of money flowing to Africa will not be turned off any time soon.

[Elizabeth Debraggio]

When looking at social, environmental, and humanitarian concerns there is no question that Africa has the poorest track record on aggregate among the international community. While it is likely that the source of this dismal performance is historically rooted, that does not diminish nor excuse the problems the continent is currently facing—particularly since, as Ambassador Walker notes, if the "worst predictions of our scientific community come to pass" any progress that has been made in recent decades will likely be completely stifled. The impact of AIDs, the potential for worldwide pandemics, and the effects of global warming and climate change all pose a challenge to every state, but the nations in Africa face a disadvantage from the onset as they lack the structural underpinnings, financial resources, and overall stability to effectively manage such crises.

These doomsday prophecies are frightening enough for the developed world, but it is important that these fears do not further diminish the likelihood of international help today—before it is too late for Africa and before national self-interest becomes paramount to international aid. Is there enough time to help prepare African nations? Can any effective measures actually be implemented? Maybe. Maybe not. However, uncertainty does not render all attempts meaningless or unimportant. Since African states lack the underlying structure and stability to address these issues, the international community can help by encouraging investment in infrastructure, providing incentives for economic development and for retaining educated members of the population, and by supporting stable and uncorrupt governments. We may not be able to prevent pandemics or global warming, but before the international system becomes one of every nation for itself, we should at least attempt to redeem ourselves for putting Africa in its current position by helping it to establish a basis for coping.

[Meghan Hepp]

While The United States and the west have done little to help the growing problems in Africa they have also let them drift out of the public eye. The lack of governmental action on part of the west and other developed countries is likely to continue because these countries cannot even agree to come together on many things that may help their own countries, let alone Africa. For example, global warming is an inherent threat facing every country on the planet. While the west may have the funds to limit the disastrous effects of the changing climate, little is currently being done to prevent the inevitable. If the United States and other economically powerful countries cannot agree on a common direction to take toward their own futures it is unlikely that these countries will come together to take common action in Africa.

While the imperialism and lack of sufficient AID cannot be taken back the future policies would have potential to make an impact. However, the lack of action taken by the west shows little promise for future action. Successful action on part on the UN and regional organizations are also unlikely.

Globalization will force the west to at least recognize the problem if Africa were to face the perfect storm. Cutting off access and transportation after the fact may prove to be too little to late. Air born viruses will already have likely infected other countries. If Africa were to face the perfect storm it is probable that it will not be contained only to the African continent. However, I don’t see the west making prospective policy when it comes to Africa. The United States and other developed countries will most likely only consider the problems in Africa once it is too late to have effective programs. The policies the west will put in place will continue to protect its own citizens first.

[Brittany Horn]

Africa has received the short end of the stick when it comes to pretty much everything that could go wrong for a continent. Anything from: colonization, HIV/AIDS, climate change, the fear of Avian flu, malnutrition, civil war, and inadequate health systems, you name it they have it. It is for these reasons that Africa should be at the forefront of every major international organization and wealthy country in the world.

What lies at the root of the problem is the African nations inability to provide the basic needs of the their people. Poor health care, malnutrition and lack of water purification systems are the roots of several problems in the region. How can countries in Africa possibly combat this others wonder? Frankly, they can’t. But these areas are ground zero. The healthier a person is the less chance they have of falling ill so quickly or as often. Every citizen may not be able to afford a vaccination; but vitamins, minerals, and hydration from basic food and water can help build up a persons immune system. In addition, less people would fall ill due to dysentery. If climate change does occur and water is even more depleted, the effects would unquestionably be disastrous. More so, the people who are ill have poor treatment due to the lack of medical staff. So, essentially the continent has no ability to neither prevent unnecessary illnesses nor treat them. Africa needs help and America as well as other countries should help provide for the basic needs of these people and by that prevent unwarranted illnesses caused by lack of universal necessities.

The question from the west is why should we care? To simply put it, it’s our fault. Colonization has destroyed the country and led to genocide in Rwanda and more recently Darfur. AIDS/HIV plagues people all over the world homosexual or not, it will not go away if we just fight it in America. The longer it lasts in Africa the greater chance of viral mutation and inabilities to fight it, and then the new unpreventable strand travels all over the world. These diseases are not regional problems neither is Avian flu, they are GLOBAL KILLERS, as is malnutrition. Politicians who enjoy filet mignon and drink Perrier at dinner can no longer ignore them; they must wake up and see that an entire continent of millions of people are being slowly murdered by natural causes.

[Scott Iseman]

Ambassador Walker’s comments on Africa seem to indicate the worst case scenario. The worst, however, seems very possible. If so much is already going wrong in Africa and so much more can go wrong in Africa, then why are countries not helping? I feel the answer is related to protectionist politics and realist political philosophy. The hard, sad truth is that Africa does not yet have the economic, military or political clout to warrant significant international concern and attention. In addition, from the Western perspective, Africa is largely in shambles, so where is the economic or political advantage in getting involved in large-scale problems?
These arguments depend on the bottom line-what’s in it for me? If western countries take a step back, the benefits of truly helping Africans can be clearly seen. For example, think of all the new consumers of western goods and services that could be created if African countries were stable enough to allow for such commerce and the people were healthy enough to participate in that kind of economy. The problem is that these benefits are covered by the massive problems faced by many African countries. As a result, increasing death tolls, civil war and diseases among Africans do to evoke effective responses from the west. Just look at western indifference in Rwanda and currently in Sudan. Africans continue to die from preventable causes like malaria and poor drinking water, but proper aid is not provided.
Ambassador Walker makes the repeated point that the West, especially the US, has the resources to survive “poisonous cocktails” amidst perfect storms and Africa does not. The west, even has the resources to help Africans weather potential disasters as well as their current problems, but little help is given and little is likely to be given. The truth is that American lives will have to be seriously threatened or even lost before any action will be taken by the United States. For now, the African problem is too far away to warrant action by the US or other western countries.

[Nathaniel Emmons]

The international community cannot continue to ignore the potential for health catastrophes in Africa. As Ambassador Walker illustrated, the AIDS epidemic has already stretched African health resources to a breaking point, and an avian flu outbreak would shatter Africa’s fragile medical resources. America must take a vested interest in the health of Africa because in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, instability in Africa can easily affect America. However, America must push the spread of democracy in its AID programs because transparent, effective, and accountable governance is a necessary tool in fighting any large health epidemic. America and the international community must do a better job of pursuing a regime change in Zimbabwe; a stable government and strong economy in Zimbabwe will help improve all of Sub-Saharan Africa’s fight against AIDS/HIV and other potential epidemics. Zimbabwe needs to become a helpful partner in fighting AIDS and other epidemics and not a hindrance.
However, pushing democracy and pursuing a regime change in Zimbabwe is not enough to combat the health problems in Africa. As Ambassador Walker stated, it is imperative that American foreign AID programs not be governed by domestic beliefs and influences. It is absurd that in African countries facing HIV problems and high drug use that American AID programs cannot be involved in clean needle programs because of domestic policies. America and the world must take a proactive approach to the health problems in Africa. Because the health resources are so limited, any attempt to help during an epidemic would be almost insignificant. America and the world must address the problem now, before a disastrous pandemic strikes. The urgency of the problem cannot be underestimated; as Africa, more than any other continent begins to feel the consequences of global warming, diseases will spread to new parts of the continent and potentially create new epidemics. Unfortunately, a plethora of difficult and seemingly unsolvable problems continue to hamper Africa’s development, but the health problems in Africa is an issue that the world community can and should make an effort to fix.

[Greg Rogan]

There is no question that the attention of the international community towards African affairs has been seriously lacking. While I'm finishing up my final year at Hamilton College, it's difficult to understand how a place like Hamilton - where any and all needs are immediately catered for - and Africa can exist on the same planet.
I feel as though the West has only looked to Africa with one thing in mind: What can be gained?
The West's economic interests in Africa, dating back to the slave trade in the 15th century, have resulted in the dire condition of the continent today. There has been no consideration of the well-being of the natives, and, as a result, Africa's underdevelopment is no surprise.
It would be refreshing to see Western states address international problems with a philosophy of 'How can we help?' rather than 'what can be gained?'
Given the current state of international affairs, I think Africa might have to wait a while for any serious international attention.

[Bianca Dragan]

I know what hysteria is.

During the avian flu, Romania fully experienced panic. Villages were quarantined. Thousand of properties were trespassed so that the authorities can kill the birds. Millions of dollars were spent to fight the avian flu. The chicken sales dropped 80% because people hysterically stopped eating chicken. Banks lost hundreds of million dollars because farmers and producers couldn't pay back the credits anymore. Romanian tourism lost millions of dollars because foreigners canceled their vacations. More than one million birds were cold heartedly sacrificed. There was no time to lose with doubt and mercy. It had to be. Animal organizations went bonkers with the way the birds were sacrificed. People lost money with their birds being taken away and killed. If a bird was worth $15, that was $15 million gone with the wind. That’s how much money was wasted. Like other countries, we couldn't avoid avian flu. But we survived it. This is the problem with Africa. A pandemic disaster could wipe out Africa, facing massive death rates and severe economic impact. The medical facilities and resources are already stretched by HIV/AIDs, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and other tropical diseases. Malaria still kills nearly one million people every year, more than HIV. Thomas Friedman underlined the idea of an African Stereotype in a recent New York Times editorial. He writes about the cliché according to which Africa is hopeless and just waiting around for the West to come to its rescue. Overall, Africa needs many things and still has problems. For example, how is it possible that president Thabo Mbeki said “he knew no one with AIDS”?! South Africa is the world’s biggest AIDS epidemic! How can the health minister (!!) recommend salad, lemons, and garlic over antiretroviral drugs? How can she say that these drugs that fight against the virus are toxic and people should avoid them?! On one hand, there are the politicians that make irresponsible statements, throw obstacle after obstacle, have amounts of money unspent and do nothing to improve the health system that is close to nonexistent in some areas of South Africa. Immediate attention could have prevented thousands of deaths, but for many in the West HIV was indeed seen as a disease of druggies and homosexuals. In reality, good things happen in Africa, but they don't happen overnight. On the other hand, there are the regional governments that provide antiretrovirals. Another important factor is the treatment action campaigns which have a good output. Moreover, in 1983, the constitution gave Asians and mixed race people a limited voice in government and continued to exclude blacks. It is now 12 years since South Africa became a democracy, where all adults can vote now, regardless of color and race. Furthermore, the West has the resources in wealth, technology and trained people to adapt to climate change, deal with massive medical emergencies and fake "calm." But as an international community I agree that it does not have the coordination, organization and political will to deal with a pandemic disaster in Africa and in other less developed regions in the world. Realistically, the country that will first find a cure or that has the resources to acquire that cure will provide it for its citizens. Can you blame them? Every constitution says the role of the state is to protect its citizens. In panic and sickness, you pray only that the drugs work! Finger pointing the wealthier countries for their resources doesn't help the underdeveloped countries. The relations between the international community and Africa will never be as close as "lips and teeth." But when you start thinking that viruses work like a domino game, then the international community is forced to stop the spread of it and not just help out of pure compassion. Most important, I don't think it's fair to pinpoint Africa as the biggest possible catalyst for disaster. If you think of the last pandemic tragedies, China's name comes up several times. One of the weakest links in the world's defenses is China's tattered health-care system. China has ideal conditions for fostering a new human flu pathogen. On top of China's 1.3 billion people, it also has 14 billion poultry and 70 percent of the world's wild waterfowl coming to visit. It also has half of the world's pigs, which tend to harbor human viruses that can combine with bird-flu bugs to form human pathogens. Also, according to officials at the World Health Organization, to avert a pandemic that begins in China the government's surveillance system would have to detect an outbreak before it is able to infect more than 20 people, and no more than three weeks have passed since exposure. The virus is likely to spread too far for quarantines and antiviral treatments to be effective. Meanwhile many poor Chinese simply don't bother with hospitals until they're virtually dying. When you talk about a disaster, you often talk in numbers. Numbers are higher in China than Africa. That is a recipe for disaster. What's worse is that our luck won't hold. Trillions of flu viruses at loose in the world replicate and mutate. It's only a matter of time before one evolves the ability to spread by way of a cough or a handshake. Hysteria is not a good adviser thus it's high time to start preparing the world for a pandemic disaster than talk about it for the hundredth time.

[Jessica Polidoro]

Africa’s poisonous cocktail could potentially lose its fatality if America and the rest of the world let go of their constricting values and concern about image. However, if America does not act first, it is unlikely that another major power will provide the authority necessary to set an effective precedent. Our maturity, as a country, is apparently absent when it comes to the most important issues of human rights. Instead, we consistently focus on image and political correct-ness and it’s perpetuating the status of places like Africa that undoubtedly need our help.
In this blog, you point out that America refuses to support clean needle programs or health care programs that are targeted at prostitutes. Are we too concerned with tarnishing our image and too insistent on imposing our own sense of morality to step back and look at the bigger picture? It appears so. This country strives to lead the rest of the world by setting good examples, but that doesn’t have to mean what our current administration makes it out to be. The extremely conservative viewpoint that has come to dominate American politics today maintains that supporting the rights of certain acts or groups of people is equivalent to agreeing with what they contain or stand for. By helping those afflicted with the AIDS virus, we would apparently be saying that drug use and prostitution is right. However, that is most definitely not the case. Similarly, we are quick to say that a politician who agrees in the right to gay marriage or a woman’s right to choose must also believe fundamentally that homosexuality and abortion are morally right. A person’s personal preference does not always correspond with their political goals for society. Until we understand this, and employ politicians who can tell the difference, places like Africa will not get the support they deserve from the US.

[Abigail Evans]

The widespread causes of AIDS in Africa are well known by the international community, yet efforts to curb the epidemic have been far from satisfactory. From AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, an estimated 30 million people have the virus and approximately 17 million have died so far. The disease kills 5,000 adults and 1,000 children every day, a rate that is 20 times greater than in Western countries. I feel the noble efforts of U.S. government and other agencies such as the U.N. and NGOs should not go unnoticed, yet the billions of dollars spent on Africa’s complex problems has only made a small dent thus far.

The long history of issues in Africa that began with colonialism and exploitation has now escalated to genocide and starvation. The lack of sufficient health care facilities stands as a serious detriment in the way of the continent’s future. Today, an estimated 70 percent of Africans use ‘traditional healers’ as their principal source of health care, a function of tradition yet extremely unsanitary. Researchers have found that the transmission routes of AIDS vary greatly, including communal and traditional ceremonies that spread the disease through less than sterile tools. Clean needle programs would prove both effective and beneficial to the population, yet the lack of sufficient support and personnel represents a dire setback. In addition, mothers are spreading the disease to their children and prostitution has become increasingly common at an early age. This ‘cancer’ of AIDS lacks both concern and understanding that simply cannot be ignored, where all aspects of its movement should be evaluated.

If this continual deterioration occurs, a spread of the pandemic could plague the future of not just Africa. A renovated global effort is necessary to increase funds for aid, yet sometimes the reality of the situation is daunting and deemed helpless by world leaders. If eleven percent of women of childbearing age are infected, education on the severity of the issue must increase. In addition, I agree that starvation and poverty must be stressed, for the lack of food and clean water deny a huge population of their basic human needs. At this point, it doesn’t make sense to target Africa as an “impossible cause,” but instead a serious responsibility of our leaders.

[Maura Donovan]

The West is in a predicament when it comes to its dealings with Africa. As “A Poisonous Cocktail in a Perfect Storm” points out, the continent has many looming dangers, all of which have the potential for disaster. It is also widely accepted that the West has had a large hand in the creation of these problems. European imperialism and American capitalism, while beneficial to the West, have both destroyed Africa’s chanced of prosperity. Now that the west is starting to realize the consequences of its actions, what are we to do? The entire topic can be overwhelming. The United Nations is constantly passing resolution after resolution about AIDS, corrupt regimes and poverty in the region. Countries in Africa are suffering now because they were exploited by us earlier. On the one hand, the West has the money and resources to face up to its mistakes and save millions by contributing much more aid than its current contributions. On the other hand, it is easy for western governments to ignore Africa, because neither the starving people of Kenya nor the refugees in the Sudan vote these politicians into office.

The world has always been divided into us and them. Even with the growth of technology and spread of information, there are still the Western or developed countries and the third world, or the underdeveloped. Even though the death of 100,000 Africans to AIDS or poverty will cause most to pause and reflect on the sadness of lives lost, 100 Americans lost in a terrorist attack or school shooting will garner international press and often immediate action. Africans will be pitied and lobbied for by human rights activists, but the truth is that world politics is constantly preventing those in need from receiving the help they deserve. As the blog points out, even medical supplies can be politicized as any medicines to stop the spread of the Avian flu are all created and stored in the West. To an American, the fact that a virus has the potential to wipe out a third of a continent seems so archaic. However, these are the conditions which Africans live with. Western politicians do not push the African issues because their constituents are not concerned with them. While it is true that many governments are too stingy with their monetary aid and supplies, it is our own fault, as citizens, that they are not doing a better job.

[Allison Gaston-Enholm]

I agree that in the event of a major global disaster, the Western world would not be “immune.” In fact, I believe one of the major problems with the current international public health policy is that the Western World frequently forgets just to what extent these two “worlds” are interconnected. Beyond globalized economies, and international businesses, we have even more basic connections such as tourism and the sharing of information. All of these connections would be weakened if not destroyed by a large scale public health crisis.
In addition, in the event of a disaster, I believe that the world would feel compelled to call upon the United States for the aid and the monetary relief it would need to regain its footing. As Ambassador Walker points out, immediate attention of problems could have prevented further damages with global disasters in the past. However, preemptive action would be even better than trying to quickly find solutions once a problem has already begun. Instead of passing the responsibility, the international community should be collaborating on contingency plans and the stockpile and pre-positioning of supplies. Additionally, in the event of a global emergency, it will be important to have pre-established relationships and communications within and amongst the governments of all countries. If the Western world is not working preemptively to solve the problems now, it may later be forced to clean up the devastation of a much larger and significantly more costly problem - a problem that it has now not only contributed to, but become inadvertently effected by as well.

[John Molfetas]

Ambassador Walker points out that Africa is a poisonous cocktail or a volcano about to explode. Currently African governments are dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the lack of sanitation, clean water and inadequacy of health facilities coupled with the persistence of deadly diseases such as the diarrhea, already eradicated in the west. It is important to note that the dire condition, in which Africa is, stems from its colonial history and its exploitation by the west.
Africa was colonized, its people brutally suppressed and discriminated upon in their own homeland and as Franz Fanon notes the whole world, including Africa was Europeanized. The colonizers imposed their European lifestyles on the African people and altered their unique identity. The colonization of Africa also led to the creation of artificial borders, which did not follow ethnic or tribal lines and caused the vicious ethnic-tribal wars in the post-colonial era.
With decolonization Africa has not improved. In fact, despite being technically free it is still under the relative control of the western world. Some African countries, such as Somalia, were more affluent and modern, upon de-colonization, than they are now. In many countries including Ghana the comparative GDP has dropped substantially since de-colonization. However, this does not excuse colonialism, but simply indicates the way some countries have declined economically. They have declined due to corrupt-un-democratic regimes, which are often connected with western interests and due to the unwillingness of the developed world to provide the necessary infrastructure and a state of balance once decolonization occurred.
It is necessary for the developed world to provide basic infrastructure; what we take for granted, such as clean water, sanitation, adequate health and housing. Health and social problems will not evaporate immediately but will be dealt a heavy blow, if infrastructures are created. The construction of a well, which has low relative cost, provides clean and fresh water to an African village helps decrease the likelihood of diarrhea and increase the immune system of the villagers against further diseases. Furthermore, the western world through non-governmental organizations and the African Union can assist in the development of cultivations that are more abundant and resistant to dramatic changes in the weather conditions.
However, for these projects to be successful the developed world has to take a stand and severely penalize and isolate the corrupt Idin Amin-like leaders of Africa. Fruthermore, by lifting tariffs on African agricultural products and by ceasing to subsidize and protect domestic agriculture it would be able to lift millions out of poverty, desperation and prevent the creation of a paradise for epidemics. Obviously, whoever makes these brave decisions can wave his career goodbye but can assist the ailing continent in achieving economic and political independence. By simply giving aid the problems Africa faces are simply being postponed not prevented. If the development of infrastructure does not occur with greater intensity, a form of colonialism will still linger on and the continent will drift into decay and oblivion.

[Tucker Hutchinson]

The problem in Africa is so large, interconnected, and horrifying, that only wholesale grass roots revitalization can truly alter the situation. A continent’s health system cannot function efficiently when its economy is in shambles. As Ambassador Walker pointed out, even when Africans are trained with the medical knowledge that would be so vital if any of the calamities mentioned here were to come to pass, they leave the country to offer their services to the highest bidder. The flight of skilled workers is only one example of how inefficient it is to plug only one of a dozen holes in a sinking ship. It will take the dedication of the majority of the developed world, and the leadership of a country as powerful as the U.S., to steer Africa back on course. Instead of focusing on headline issues like AIDS or famines only, the health of the region as a whole, on every level, needs to be addressed. Funding for AIDS treatment and prevention, and relief in times of famine, should not be stopped, but those resources are being under utilized because the region as a whole is in such poor condition.

The effectiveness of U.S. foreign relations, and our role as world leader, has been so tarnished by the Bush presidency that it is difficult to imagine the current administration having a positive influence on the situation in Africa, where sacrifice, vision, and massive international cooperation are necessary. The constrictions placed on U.S. AIDS funding to Africa (preaching abstinence when contraceptives are needed) reveals the inability of the Bush administration to approach the Africa problem practically; allowing domestic interests to interfere instead. Given the six years of poor international leadership, effort should not be directed at fixing the current administration, but should instead be focused on making the situation in Africa, and other third-world regions, an issue in the upcoming presidential election.