Friday, 26 October 2012

KNOTS blogger

KNOTS blogger

FHS Uganda research featured in AllAfrica.com

Posted: 26 Oct 2012 07:56 AM PDT

In a recent opinion piece from the Observer, which was subsequently syndicated on AllAfrica.com, FHS Uganda Communications Specialist, Kakaire Ayub Kiruna, argued that:

If you are the kind of person who never misses television news, chances are that you watched the story of a pregnant woman who was reportedly abandoned by medics at Mukono Health Centre IV, not so long ago. But in case you missed the story, Ms Patricia Nantume, said to have been experiencing obstructed labour, could not raise the Shs 250,000 wanted by the medical officer on duty before conducting vital emergency surgery. [...]

While Nantume and her baby were lucky not to have become part of Uganda's high maternal and neonatal mortality statistics after sympathisers had her rushed to Kawolo hospital using an ambulance which was bought by area MP, Betty Nambooze, many don't find themselves this fortunate. [...]

Initiatives like Mukono's, where sympathisers spontaneously pooled financial resources to save a mother in danger remain unstudied, yet they could contribute to the body of evidence needed for policy influence and diffusion purposes.

He continues by outlining a new action research initiative spearheaded by the FHS Uganda team called the MANIFEST project, which is working to understand how community resources can be utilised to help reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

The article was featured as part of an ongoing series with AllAfrica.com in partnership with the Institute of Devleopment Studies. The initiative aims to produce and distribute compelling multi-media content on critical issues for Africa’s future as part of a development reporting initiative.

 

Global Brazil meets the new Africa: how much of an introduction do they need?

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 08:10 AM PDT

BRICS2Last week, Canning House, the London-based Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council, hosted a panel discussion entitled "Global Brazil meets the new Africa". Diplomats, business people, journalists and researchers gathered around the room to talk about present and past interactions across the South Atlantic and the prospects for fruitful engagement.

As it is often the case in discussions about Africa and Brazil, historical, cultural and physical affinities were played up and argued to be a comparative advantage of this particular partnership. But divergent political and socio-economic trajectories in post-independence and post-colonial history  were also noted (Brazil celebrated its independence more than 100 years earlier), as were breaches in knowledge about what each side of the Atlantic has come to represent today  in terms of internal politics and social fabric.

The question that comes to mind then is: how much of an introduction do "global Brazil" and "new Africa" need about each other in the current state of affairs? The argument that follows suggests that an up-to-date profiling is due on either side to ensure both parties can get the best possible outcome from this partnership and prove it to be as special as it is hoped to be.
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