Call for papers: A theme issue "by, for, and about" Africa
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BMJ 2005;330:684-685 (26 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7493.684
Editorial
A theme issue "by, for, and about" Africa
Call for papers
2005, it seems, is the year of Africa.[1,2] As world leaders
gathered in Davos to discuss debt relief and pop stars re-
released their poverty anthem, the world's attention is drawn to
magnificent Africa�a continent of vast cultural and regional di-
versity and potential but plagued by extreme poverty and dis-
ease.
The Roll Back Malaria campaign reports that of the 300 million
acute cases of malaria each year around the world (which result
in 1 million deaths), over 90% occur in Africa. These mostly af-
fect children under the age of 5.[3] A new UN report estimates
that more than 80 million Africans will die of AIDS by 2025, and
another 90 million�more than one in 10 people on the continent�
will become infected.[4] Tuberculosis, maternal mortality, do-
mestic violence, and undernutrition pose further health chal-
lenges.
Undoubtedly, these are problems of poverty. Despite substantial
growth in the global economy over the past half century, most of
Africa remains poor, with living conditions not conducive to
good health and without access to cheap and effective medicines.
Seventy five million more Africans are in poverty than a decade
ago, and the depth of that poverty is brutal and widespread.
Thirty four of the world's 49 least developed countries are in
Africa. Nearly half the region's population lives on $1 a day or
less. Women are disproportionately affected.[5]
Africa's health challenges and solutions are complex, deeply
rooted in political, socioeconomic, and cultural issues. Unfor-
tunately, this complexity is rarely reflected in the current
discourse on health. Instead, Africa is often inadequately por-
trayed in the broader world as a "basket case": run by corrupt
leaders, vulnerable to terrorist extremes, lacking infrastruc-
ture, unable to look after itself. Recently, efforts to help
countries in the region to achieve the millennium development
goals have taken centre stage, propelled by Tony Blair's call to
arms that Africa "remains a scar on the conscience of the
world."[6,7]
But the millennium development goals have their problems. The
gains of the specific goals for health will not necessarily flow
to the poor and in fact may exacerbate inequalities between the
rich and poor.[8] Few countries are anywhere near honouring
their financial commitment to the goals�a paltry 0.7% of their
national income. Moreover, conservatism, including America's re-
luctance to support the importance of women's sexual and repro-
ductive rights�a long acknowledged essential component of devel-
opment�will threaten advances. And some Africans have already
rejected Blair's international commission for Africa as a public
relations gimmick.
Still, new and innovative leadership within Africa and among
countries around the world is emerging, and there's perhaps no
better time than now to harness and inspire global responsibil-
ity, accountability, and strategy for change in Africa.
The BMJ plans a theme issue for September 2005 "by, for, and
about" Africa, to deal exclusively with the region's problems
and, more importantly, offer solutions. Following the model of
our South Asian issue last year,[9] we will discuss a wide range
of health challenges such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria,
violence against women, and maternal and child health, as well
as emerging challenges such as cardiovascular disease and diabe-
tes. We will consider the political economy of health, including
progress toward achieving the millennium development goals;
health systems issues such as human resources development and
retention; and the contributions made by traditional health sys-
tems and approaches.
We hope the theme issue will be a diverse mix of papers, debate
pieces, editorials, and reviews (these might include art, lit-
erature, and popular media). We are particularly interested in
original research conducted in Africa. The deadline for submis-
sions of original research is 30 April 2005.
Our aim is to bring together health professionals in the region
to discuss issues that are common to all. But we want to encour-
age submissions that tackle the historical, political, social,
economic, and cultural dimensions of health. We need stories of
Africa's problems, but also of its potential: "Stories are im-
portant because we read a lot about how Africa is dying and de-
spairing but not about how Africa is living and developing."[10]
--
Jimmy Volmink, professor and chair of primary health care
(mailto:jvolmink@cormack.uct.ac.za) Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory
7925, Cape Town, South Africa
Lola Dare, chief executive officer
Center for Health Sciences Training, Research, and Development
International, Ibadan, Nigeria
Jocalyn Clark, associate editor
BMJ
Competing interests: None declared.
--
References
1. Thousands died in Africa yesterday. New York Times 2005; 27
Feb.
2. A year for change. Saturday January 1, 2005. Guardian 2005;1
Jan.
3. Roll Back Malaria Campaign. Malaria in Africa
www.rbm.who.int/cmc_upload/0/000/015/370/RBMInfosheet_3.htm
4. UNAIDS. AIDS in Africa: Three scenarios to 2025
www.unaids.org/en/AIDS+in+Africa_Three+scenarios+to+2025.asp
5. Let justice be done, and seen to be done. Africa Woman 2004;
Oct. www.africawoman.net/images/AW22%5B1%5D.lr.pdf
6. Africa: A scar on the conscience of the world. Independent
2004; 21 Aug.
7. Commission for Africa. Our common interest: report of the
commission for Africa. 2005.
www.commissionforafrica.org/english/report/introduction.html
8. Gwatkin DR. How much would poor people gain from faster pro-
gress towards the Millennium Development Goals for health? Lan-
cet 2005;365: 813-7.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
9. Smith R. Towards a global social contract. BMJ 2004; 328
[editor's choice].
10. Schori P. Africa: Open your eyes. New York Times 2005; 27
Feb.