When Help Hurts: Medical Exploitation and Distrust in East Africa
Medical mistrust is a lack of confidence in healthcare systems, professionals, and research, often rooted in fear that these systems may not act in a person’s best interest. This mistrust arises from real experiences of discrimination, neglect, and unethical practices. While the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the U.S. is a well-known example, East Africa also faces its own history of medical exploitation. Colonial abuses, exclusion from healthcare decisions, and violations of consent have deepened scepticism.
Talent in Transit: The Double-Edged Sword of East Africa's Skilled Migration and Diaspora Potential
East Africa’s most valuable export is not its coffee, tea, or gold, but the best and brightest of its young and talented minds. Like many regions in the Global South, East Africa is faced with the brain drain phenomena – an occurrence where highly skilled and educated workers, such as doctors, teachers, engineers, and scientists migrate from their country of origin to other countries. This is largely seen with highly skilled workers migrating from the Global South to the Global North.
The State of Sex Education in East Africa: Between Silence, Stigma and Survival
Across East Africa, sex education remains a deeply contested issue. Governments in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania have introduced various policies intended to equip young people with knowledge about their sexual and reproductive health.
Unpacking the Demographic Dividend: Unlocking East Africa’s Potential Through Healthcare and Education
East Africa stands at a pivotal moment in its development trajectory, with its youthful population presenting both a challenge and an unprecedented opportunity to unlock a demographic dividend.
Diseases and Defects: The Role of Genetics in Medicine
Genetics, a vital branch of biology, focuses on how traits and diseases are transmitted across generations. In the medical context, this field encompasses hereditary conditions and congenital anomalies that arise from specific gene mutations, chromosomal rearrangements, or complex interactions between genes and environmental factors.
Between a Loan and a Hard Place: Kenya’s Higher Education Funding Crisis Unpacked
Universities have found themselves in a catch-22 situation, grappling to finance their operations amid mounting pressures. The quagmire is multi-dimensional. The main stakeholders are stretched thin; students are complaining of high fees, university staff are complaining of delayed salaries, and the government is currently questioning its capacity to fund education at the levels it has promised.
Hidden in Plain Sight: East Africa’s Battle Against Non-Communicable Diseases
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – the chronic health conditions resulting from complex interactions between genetic predisposition, physiological factors, environmental exposures, and behavioral patterns – have emerged as the most pressing public health challenge of the 21st century. While they account for a staggering 71% of all global deaths annually (approximately 41 million lives lost), nowhere is this crisis more acute than in Sub-Saharan Africa, where NCDs are advancing at an alarming rate.
Mwalimu for Hire: The Rise of Private Tutoring in East Africa
Education in East Africa remains a global concern, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic which exacerbated existing challenges, as evidenced by World Bank Group projections that about 66 million children, adolescents, and youth in Sub-Saharan Africa will be out of school by 2030. This alarming statistic underscores the urgent need for comprehensive educational reforms across the region.
The Business of Healing: East Africa’s Untapped Strengths in the Global Medical Market
East African countries face significant challenges in meeting the essential healthcare needs of their growing populations. Traditionally positioned as recipients of healthcare solutions, it is time to shift the narrative toward how the region can actively contribute to the development and expansion of the global healthcare industry.
