Tech for Africa

Researching and responding to African health through communication technologies

[techforafrica-blog]

Sources

Below are some of the many sources I have used when researching the complex issues in Africa:

Works Cited

Africa-Bridging the Digital Divide. N.p.: SES, 2013. SES: Your Satellite Company. Web. 24 May 2013.

<http://www.ses.com/14203101/2013-02-10-SES-Africe-digital-divide>.

Dwoskin, Elizabeth. "Keeping Conflict Minerals Out of Your Cell Phone." Bloomberg Businessweek.

N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-12/

keeping-conflict-minerals-out-of-your-cell-phone>.

Essick, Kristi. "Guns, Money and Cell Phones." Industry Standard Magazine 11 June 2001: n. pag.

Global Issues. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/442/

guns-money-and-cell-phones>.

Kristof, Nicholas D. "Death by Gadget." Editorial. New York Times 26 June 2010: n. pag. The New York

Times. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/

27kristof.html?_r=1&>.

"Malaria." UNICEF. N.p., 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.unicef.org/health/

index_malaria.html>.

Oster, Emily. Emily Oster Flips Our Thinking on AIDS in Africa. TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p.,

July 2007. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.ted.com/talks/

emily_oster_flips_our_thinking_on_aids_in_africa.html>.

Patel, Trishula. "The Real Africa." First Call Magazine 25 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Web. 24 May 2013.

<http://firstcallmagazine.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/the-real-africa/>.

"Saving Lives through SMS." Infographic. HopePhones. FrontlineSMS, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013.

<http://hopephones.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MedicMobileSMS.jpg>.

Solutions for Hope. Solutions Network, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://solutions-network.org/

site-solutionsforhope/objective/>.

VanVliet, Laura. "Liberian Journalist Threatened after Reporting on Female Genital Mutilation."

Sampsonia Way 4 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Sampsonia Way. Web. 30 May 2013.

<http://www.sampsoniaway.org/blog/2012/04/04/

liberian-journalist-threatened-after-reporting-on-female-genital-mutilation/>.

[techforafrica-blog]

Additional Literature

Hello all!

Below is a list of some literature that you may want to check out if you found this blog interesting. Note: While book titles are supposed to be underlined, there is not an underline feature on this tumblr posting. Books/novels will be denoted with an asterisk (*).

Things Fall Apart* by Chinua Achebe

A Grain of Wheat* by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

Say You're One of Them* by Uwem Akpan

A Long Way Gone* by Ishmael Beah (child soldiers in Sierra Leone, blood diamonds)

For a different take on Africa, check out Heart of Darkness* by Joseph Conrad which explores some of the deeper issues in Africa in relation to the rest of the world while using impressive literary allegories and rhetoric

Earlier, two poems were posted which focus on the character of Africa.

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The image above from Bloomberg Businessweek shows the process required to make smartphones and other electronics.

Earlier, I posted a series of photos and discussed some background to what "blood phones" are, but I only really hinted at why they cause conflict. The image above shows the process that conflict minerals are mined and sorted. Usually, war lords control areas that are high in resources by placing armed guards around camp sites to control miners.

These armed guards often tax the traders that come through the area, imposing a monopoly almost like a drug cartel does. Most of the corruption and violence takes place when the minerals are in transit from the mining site to the ports where they are traded. When the minerals are sent away and later processed in places such as China, it is almost impossible to tell the difference from a conflict mineral from the Congo or a safely-mined mineral from South America. Once the minerals are compounded and built into devices, they are sent to people like you and me, who indirectly fuel a war thousands of miles away.

The connection between conflict minerals and war is simple: the groups who control these camps and monopolize the system through intimidation and violence are the same ones who are killing and terrorizing in the Congo. With funds from mineral purchasers, these groups can afford weapons and supplies to continue fighting and continue a bloody streak in the DRC.

But, there is a way to stop this, or at least actively take a role in preventing conflict minerals from reaching the markets. AVX Corporation is a company that works to collect minerals safely and fairly. In the image above, you can see how AVX controls and carefully monitors the chain of supply from miners to shippers through detailed logs to prevent smuggling and stealing. AVX has parterned with tech companies such as Nokia and Motorola in an effort to stop the war in the Congo that has very deep roots with the minerals, such as tantalum.

Tantalum ore can be found in cell phones and usually plays a major role in powering the devices and connecting energy. About 14% of tantalum is from the DRC which armed groups have long tried to take advantage of; however, in 2010, the United States passed the Dodd-Frank law which mandated companies monitor and certify that their minerals did not come from bloody hands. That is, the law would require stricter regulations that supplies (especially tantualum, tungsten, tin, and gold) are "DRC conflict-free." After the bill became law, companies including Apple and Intel began to demand that their materials be conflict free and not from the hands of armed groups.

To read more, visit the following sources for this post:

Bloomberg Businessweek: "Keeping Conflict Minerals Out of Your CellPhone"

Solutions for Hope

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Progress Report- 22 May 2013

Today is the third day of the cellphone collection drive through HopePhones. So far, the donations have been slow to come, but there is a considerable amount. I will release more figures after the collection finishes this Friday.

So far, with this project, I've learned a lot about Africa besides the generic facts that I learned through discussions or even the course I took this first trimester. The video I posted a couple days ago really surprised me and showed me how much I knew about HIV/AIDS in Africa was really not true and far from reality. Through the short posts about malaria and "blood phones," I've learned more about things I was familiar with before and a remarkably new perspective about Africa. When I look at Africa now, I don't just see the desolate continent that has been ravaged by imperialism and lack of resources, I see a place with history and culture (see poems below) and a landscape with political issues that fascinate me.

As I continue through the next week of this project, I really want to explore more about topics such as the minerals that are abused as background for the cellphone collection and the diseases that are treated. With more literature and maybe some short stories if I can find some that relate, I will post my progress and links to some of the themes that I am interested in concerning Africa.

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Rise Up Africa by Matt Ancient

Rise up Africa

Africa, Africa rise up Africa Africa, Africa stand up Africa when will you learn Africa your sons and daughters are calling they are crying for they are starving when will you change oh Africa you hate wisdom so do not have freedom and mystery consuming your kingdom to be brave means disrespect you have lost a great prospect Africa, Africa rise up Africa Africa, Africa wake up Africa

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"The Real Africa" by Trishula Patel

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Emily Oster takes apart the things we once believed about AIDS and how to treat this epidemic. As an economist, Oster approaches AIDS differently than scientists or medical workers do: she looks at programs and trends to find missing links or connections.

Before I watched the video, I was sure that there was a clear, absolute relation between poverty and AIDS in Africa; however, after watching this TED talk, I learned that while, yes there is a relationship, decreasing poverty through urbanization and commercialization would actually lead to more AIDS. By looking at the short term effects, we can see that some plans are not necessarily as easy to implement as we once thought.

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Making Progress! I am almost done with a mixed media art piece depicting the shattered image of education worldwide. Although we have made great progress, inequalities and lacks in proper education have led to many children being stuck in impoverished situations. We must strive to expand educational opportunities to all children, because education is the latter to the top and to success.

[techforafrica-blog]

Mosquitoes and P. Vivax

HIV/AIDS has become one of the most publicized epidemics in history. While most people are aware of the effects malaria (P. Vivax) has had on African society, many are not cognizant of the impact malaria has had on the continent.

 Malaria tends to cluster in regions where mosquitoes have access to open water supplies and humid air. Once infected, it is extremely difficult to treat and no effective immunization currently exists; however, antimalarial drugs, such as Primaquine, have proven to be useful in preventing the disease.

According to the Center for Disease Control, high fevers, chills and body aches. Non-flu like symptoms include extreme nausea and vomiting, weakness, and possible jaundice. When malaria leads to organ failure, symptoms can include cerebral malaria (includes abnormal behavior, seizures and coma), anemia and acute kidney failure.

While it has been extremely difficult to control malaria in Africa, the disease has been eradicated in most other parts of the world. These advances show the effects that infrastructure and health care organization can have in ameliorating health epidemics and providing programs that prevent future outbreaks. By contributing to African health care, others can not only aid in the treatment of malaria, but in the prevention of diseases that have been eradicated elsewhere.

Donate here to MedicMobile, an organization which increases health program efficiency in Africa by providing communication resources and technology to facilitate diagnosis/treatment.

[techforafrica-blog]

"Blood Phones" are made from minerals mined in Africa in war zones that are often fueled by child soldiers and despotic leaders. Especially common in the DRC, many of the bits and pieces that are in our phones come from these war-torn areas. Although most are not aware of the virtual blood diamonds in our phones, by recycling and reusing our electronics, we can preserve the minerals that were already mined and by purchasing products that we known the origin of, we can try to help those who are struggling thousands of miles away.

Read about blood phones:

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/is-your-cell-phone-fueling-rape-and-murder-in-the-congo.html

http://www.globalissues.org/article/442/guns-money-and-cell-phones

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/opinion/wright-congo

http://beta.fool.com/erinannie/2012/08/28/5-companies-involved-in-blood-phone-conflicts/10164/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=0

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Mae Azango, a journalist from Liberia, discuses the stigmas and problems that women in Africa face with Female Genital Mutilation. She has sparked the international discussion of the historical procedure and brought attention to its unsafe and unjust application in society.

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Screenshot from a study by SES (02/18/2013) on the digital divide in Africa. Study contains info about size, population growth and communication technologies.

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Where I'm Going

Today marks the beginning of my effort to address some of the many problems I've heard about Africa. Although I've known about the poverty, disease and hunger plaguing the continent for most of my life, I regret that I didn't take much of an interest since I took a course called 'African Issues.' Even though we discussed political and historical problems, such as Apartheid and the recent Rwandan Genocide, I began thinking more about the place I had heard so much about but never really understood.

Through this project, I hope to address several problems, including the digital divide, healthcare, disease, natural resources and some of the many outside influences shaping Africa. I am organizing a cell phone collection drive at my school through an organization called HopePhones  which collects or recycles or mobile phones to benefit healthcare providers in communicating in rural Africa. I will also be publishing links to articles and reading lists in addition to my posts about some of the problems and what I am doing about them.

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Some perspective on the size of Africa, from @theeconomist.

[techforafrica-blog]

Interesting to note the sheer size of the continent. Might be hard  to find transportation between towns/villages if they are so spread apart.

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