I Rise Africa Magazine

16/05/2020

14/05/2020

Africa and the Politics of Coronavirus Treatment
By Iyke Obi Durumba

All major Nigerian news dailies were recently awash with front page headlines about the Presidential directive to the COVID-19 Taskforce to obtain the Madagascar cure for Coronavirus called COVID-Organics. This comes weeks after the announcement of the drug’s triumph in treating patients in the East African island of a pandemic which has claimed more than 286,000 lives globally with 2,400 African lives.

Madagascar on the other hand, with 186 cases as at May 12, has zero fatalities.

COVID-Organics is a herbal remedy developed from the plant Artemsia annua by a Congolese doctor working in Madagascar, Dr. Jerome Munyangi (picture on post). Available in a bottled drink form, Madagascar’s President Andriy Rajoelina has enthusiastically marketed it as a traditional remedy to the raging pandemic.

So far, several African countries like Gambia. Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Tanzania have taken delivery of consignments of the tonic.

However, even as the herbal mix is catching on in the African continent as a remedy for the deadly pandemic, the body language of the World Health Organization and some Western nations clearly suggest they prefer to develop their own vaccines. The prospects of COVID-Organics being a workable preventive tonic certainly does not feature in the plans of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) which is working on raising $2bn to fund ongoing research for a vaccine. Neither is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offering any funding. Couching their incredulity in admittedly valid scientific doubts over the safety of the herbal mix, global bodies don’t seem very interested in even pursuing the possibility of COVID-Organics being the silver bullet for the raging pandemic.

Perhaps, the controversy following Dr. Munyangi’s work on using the Artemisia plant in treatment for another deadly disease, malaria, may shed more light on the reluctance of the West to give COVID-Organics a critical look-in as a possible solution to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Jerome Munyangi who obtained his medical degree from the University of Kinshasa and has two Masters degrees from the Paris Diderot University and the University of Otawa, has been at the forefront of research into the use of the artemisia plant as tea infusion for malaria treatment rather than in the form of the Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT), the combination therapy administered in popular anti-malarials like Coartem. The artemisinin used in these ACT drugs are synthetically produced by big pharmaceutical companies for a huge market.

Some reports suggest the powerful pharmaceutical industry may have taken a disagreeable view to Dr. Munyangi’s work in this field which report he published in 2019. His clinical trials in the Congo Democratic Republic proved the two varieties of Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra plant infusions worked just as well as the ACT therapies approved by WHO and produced and marketed by big pharma. The success of the trials suggested tea infusions as an established alternative therapy for malaria treatment but the funds needed for further research were simply not available. A similar research by Frank van der Kooy at Leiden University also petered out for lack of funds.

Perhaps, very revealing is a documentary aired by France 24 in January 2019 where it strongly suggested that the use of artemisia tea threatens the business of the big pharmaceutical companies who produce these ACT drugs. It is estimated that the ACT anti-malaria market alone will be worth almost $700m by 2025.

Could this then be the basis for the scientific disdain which COVID-Organics has received outside Africa? Global multi-sector leadership initiatives have raised a potential $6.5bn to fund urgent research into a vaccine against the Coronavirus. This raises the question about how much attention COVID-Organics is (not) receiving save the product requests from African countries.

It cannot be overstated that at moments where the world is at a crossroads, Africa must seek African solutions. The power and influence of the huge pharmaceutical companies are well acknowledged but this pandemic offers a very important and perhaps once-a-lifetime opportunity for the continent to adopt and standardize homegrown cures for its illnesses. Without a doubt, funding deeper and broader research into products like COVID-Organics is absolutely imperative. The challenge lies with Africa.

The entire pandemic offers the continent unique opportunities to come into her own especially in the field of health. With the developed world reeling from the Coronavirus, Africa, in spite of her shaky health system, seems to be getting off lightly by comparison. The specific factors which created this relative immunity are begging to be identified and engineered to future benefit.

A more prescient AU will begin to work out institutional ways of supporting local research into local remedies for diseases native to the continent while at the same time maintaining high public safety standards. This may be at the sub regional or country level. Entire new protocols, futuristic and unique, must be developed to harness the rich floral offerings on the continent. Mainstreaming pharmacognosy into the continents’s healthcare system has become exigent.

21/04/2020

Hello iRise Africa People,

How are we coping with this lockdown? How are we managing the circumstances? Sure no-one alive has ever witnessed anything like this Coronavirus-induced sit-at-home. More than half the entire world population is experiencing movement restrictions right now as we try to beat the virus which has already claimed so many lives across the world.

Having to stay home for weeks will bring its own unique experiences. Sharing and encouraging each other helps create the common human bond needed to see off this pandemic for good.

So what new thing have you done this lockdown? Read a new book or two? Seen good movies? Completed that online course? Learnt how to make a new dish? Re-connected with family? Very importantly, how often do you do physical work-outs, some skipping, jogging? Don’t jog too far tho’ 😊

Please share some experiences with us...

11/02/2020

UN Secretary-General’s Statement on International Day of Women and Girls in Science
11 February

“To rise to the challenges of the 21st century, we need to harness our full potential. That requires dismantling gender stereotypes. On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, let’s pledge to end the gender imbalance in science.”
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science.

At present, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women. According to UNESCO data (2014 - 2016), only around 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 per cent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 per cent) and in engineering, manufacturing and construction (8 per cent).

Long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are steering girls and women away from science related fields. As in the real world, the world on screen reflects similar biases—the 2015 Gender Bias Without Borders study by the Geena Davis Institute showed that of the onscreen characters with an identifiable STEM job, only 12 per cent were women.

In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/212 declaring 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=75&v=iRZx4Dz3vkE&feature=emb_logo

To mark this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we bring you the story of Katherine Jin - a young female scientist and how her scientific inven...

10/02/2020

Thank you for liking our page. we invite you to join us as we raise thought-provoking conversations which will shape gender perceptions and improve the lot of the African woman.

Please do visit our blog and drop us a line or two there. Also, you can mail us a story or share an experience with us on [email protected]

10/02/2020

Breaking the Gender Ceiling

Power speaks of strength. Strength is associated with knowledge, confidence, conviction and gut. All these in addition to physical strength bring about a difference in human relationship. And by nature, humans have been known to exploit every position of weakness; as in weaker species, weaker races, weaker nations, weaker gender or weaker persons. That women as a physically weaker group had been subject of exploitation by men of all races and for a long time is not surprising. It is in the nature of man all over the world to do so.

However, civilization, increased knowledge and awareness developed the human mind to a point where relationship, fairness and peace became necessary for survival. Consequently, nations and groups constantly legislate in regulation of behaviour for peaceful coexistence, well-being and prosperity and tend to depend less on the coercive force of exploitation mentioned earlier.

A lot of legislation has been credited to the well-being of women and in reversal of previously exploitative rules that inhibited women from thriving in many societies. In Nigeria, we have had to speak up against female ge***al mutilation, early marriage, girl child education and other rights such as right to inheritance, right to buy and own landed property and right to life as a widow. The Beijing platform has been of considerable benefit to women in many countries as the 150 nations that signed the agreement have in some ways shifted grounds since 1995. In Finland today a woman, Sanna Marin (34) is the Prime Minister, Li Andersson (32), is the Minister of Education, Katri Kulmuni (32) is the Minister of Finance and Maria Ohisalo (34) is the Minister of Internal Affairs. All the four of them are women. Indeed, they make up the youngest leadership in the world.

In Nigeria as in Africa, the journey has been slow in getting women into state leadership but quite progressive among the professions, in commerce and in the families. Women are leading in many professional bodies, such as ICAN, ANAN, NIM, NAPPS, and among Judges in the judiciary. Women are delving into occupations that were hitherto regarded as masculine domains. There are numerous female engineers, many female pilots, truck drivers, estate developers, manufacturers, actresses, soldiers, policewomen, masons, auto mechanics, cab drivers and builders. Many women have become breadwinners of their families. I have come across numerous heroic stories of the contribution of these courageous women to society.These stories we shall be documenting on this platform.

The dynamics of modern life requires that women look at the past only as a learning resource, put it far aside, and move on with the needed conviction and passion to attain their mission. Indeed, it is often in that deprived state that visions or missions of our lives crystallize. You just trudge along with the guts of the Mohicans till you stand on the peak. It is possible! All things are possible to those who believe in themselves. For all you need to succeed in life has been deposited in you by your Creator. Therefore, live from your inside out. Think, think, and think. Espouse solitude. Take retreats and hibernate at strategic times of decision making. You do not only work, you need to work smart! That is where strength lies plus you strive always to get knowledge and resolve to keep your momentum on. As you keep excelling, barriers are broken and gender inequality will become history.

- Dr. Mrs. Sally Adukwu-Bolujoko, OON, MNIM

05/02/2020

It’s Time to Think Gender - By Dr. Sally Adiukwu-Bolujoko, OON

Sometimes when I ponder issues, I discover that African women who lived before the colonial rule with its cultural imperialism were more independent and so achieved higher status than their modern counterparts.

Even though tax was central to the reasons for the Aba Women's Riot of 1929, the quest for inclusion was also a key demand as colonial masters appointed only men to various offices. After the commission of enquiry turned in their reports, the colonial administration began to include women. It is pertinent to note that wives of all the colonial officers were housewives. Therefore they did not think anything of our women. In contrast, African women were active in the society, held positions in the society, led market associations etc. An example of such women was Mrs Funmilayo Ransome Kuti who, in the late ‘40s, led Abeokuta women in what is now referred to as the Egba Women’s Tax Riots or the Abeokuta Women’s Revolt. Refusing to pay a discriminatory tax, thousands of women occupied the palace of Alake of Egbaland intermittently for 2 years and dethroned the then Alake. They also succeeded in getting representation in the local council.

All over Africa, history and folklore speak eloquently of women who were wealthy merchants, military commanders, state envoys, accomplished politicians and statesmen. The women of Africa’s history appeared more broad minded in outlook and were not given to envy. Polygamy being a way of life, they allowed their men to have many wives with minimal friction. Divorce rate was very low, so was domestic violence.

Speaking of polygamy, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta recently signed into law, a bill legalizing polygamy. Why did Kenyans do that??? Perhaps it’s an affirmation of their belief in their culture, though I know many young women will call for your head if you dare advocate same here in Nigeria beyond what obtains (laughs). In that same law however, there are other very progressive provisions that help guarantee a woman’s rights. For example, the law bans under-18 marriages, guarantees a woman 50% of properties acquired during the union etc. But that’s by the way.

In Nigeria, it is disheartening that twenty -five years after the Beijing Affirmative Action, women hold less than 5% of political positions and it is obvious that the country’s commitment to that universal declaration is more in the breach. For a country of about 200m people with a 49% women population, women constituted just 5.65% of elected officials after the 2015 elections. This even slumped further after the 2019 elections where women had just 4.1% of those elected.

In contrast, Rwanda does not just have a 62% female majority in her parliament, her post-genocide Constitution gave them an opportunity to write in gender-friendly provisions that mandate women hold at least 30% elective seats. Other countries like Cameroon also amended their electoral laws to include gender quotas. In Europe, most Nordic countries have a culture of higher women’s participation in public office.

But why is Nigeria and indeed the African continent lagging behind in gender equality and access to public office? Why are Nigerian women not measuring up to their female counterparts elsewhere? The reasons are not far fetched - depraved national values, breakdown of institutions that could build men into value-driven leaders, enthronement of mediocrity as we debase merit, godfatherism and cronyism, primordial loyalty, quest for wealth; pursuit of what does not matter in place of what matters. I can go no and on.

But women must never lend themselves to the defeatist idea of staying at home and doing nothing. Women must never acquiesce to the narrative that subjects us to being mere appendages. A society’s development is assured on the contribution of women to those indices that matter.

However more laws and more awareness campaigns are needed to bring about women empowerment. Indeed some statistics show more girls in school in many states in Nigeria and this is encouraging. More education puts the responsibility more on the women than on the State to fight for their right. No one relinguishes power to another. We have to stand up to the battle. Many women are in some positions of influence and it is time to think 'gender.' The Queen bee era is gone. We have also perforated the glass ceiling in many places just a little push and we will have the women there.

Today Finland has a woman head of State and women as majority in their Parliament. Guess what? Finland has a 99% literacy rate with reputedly the best education system in the world. There must be a link between education and women’s rights therefore the empowerment of the African girl child through sound education must be of the highest priority to all women.

https://iriseafrica.blogspot.com/2020/02/its-time-to-think-gender-by-dr-sally.html

Sometimes when I ponder issues, I discover that African women who lived before the colonial rule with its cultural imperialism were more in...

21/01/2020

Welcome to iRise Africa Magazine: An Advocate For the African Woman

iRise Africa Magazine caters to the interests of women by creating conversations that motivate and inspire women to rise above pre-conceived societal and achieve full potential.

Through well-articulated stories from national and global figures, iRise Africa Magazine aims to elicit greater participation of women through progressive content and unique engagement styles.

Using a blog as a starting point for online interactions, iRise Africa Magazine will optimize social media as key platforms for engaging women and stakeholders around issues pertaining to the overall well-being of the Nigerian woman.

iRise Africa Magazine is a natural follow-up to the Women of Influence Magazine which ran as a glossy, hard copy, monthly magazine in 2012/2013. However, with social media and other online sources hosting millions of Nigerian readers everyday, the publishers of Women of Influence warmly invites you to join us on this portal as we provoke profound conversations and host national and international figures to drink from their rich experiences on matters that pertain women.

Through heartbreaking challenges, societal limitations and age long mindsets, several women have demonstrated ability to rise above it all. As God wills, they shall graciously tell us how they did it on this platform.

Also, iRise Africa Magazine will produce policy positions, sponsor bills and collaborate in conferences on key issues concerning Nigerian women.

Welcome.