"American business can assist [African] hands”: the Kennedy administration, US corporations, and the Cold War struggle for Africa

While there has been significant historical interest in President Kennedy’s approach to Africa, historians have not considered in-depth how American economic aid to Africa became tied to the expansion of US business involvement on the subcontinent. A close examination of these issues reveals that the Kennedy administration saw the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s economic aid programs as a critical mechanism for the resolution of America’s balance of export payments problems, and that Kennedy administration officials worked assiduously to bring American corporate interests to bear on questions of African economic development. This essay argues that the Kennedy administration promoted and fostered an environment that encouraged increased American business investment in Africa. This contention emerges from an analysis of the evolution of Kennedy’s views on Africa, including his support for African nationalist aspirations and for economic development and education, and their impact on administration policy. We examine sources from the Kennedy administration and from the papers of G. Mennen Williams, Kennedy’s Undersecretary of State for Africa and in so doing, we argue that the Kennedy administration fostered an approach to Sub-Saharan African economic development that forged a robust relationship between government aid and American business investment. The Kennedy administration’s embrace of the principles of free enterprise heralded a major shift in US relations with Africa. This point is further underscored by our examination of the significant growth of US-headquartered multinational corporations’ investments in Africa during and immediately following Kennedy’s presidency

Carta de Pere Pascual al Dr. J. Ros (Oxford) concedint-li ajuda del GIFT per a desplaçar-se una setmana al CERN

Background Our prior study in Han Chinese women has shown that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk for developing major depression (MD). Would this relationship be found in our whole data set? Method Three levels of CSA (non-genital, genital, and intercourse) were assessed by self-report in two groups of Han Chinese women: 6017 clinically ascertained with recurrent MD and 5983 matched controls. Diagnostic and other risk factor information was assessed at personal interview. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression. Results We confirmed earlier results by replicating prior analyses in 3,950 new recurrent MD cases. There were no significant differences between the two data sets. Any form of CSA was significantly associated with recurrent MD (OR 4.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.19–5.24]). This association strengthened with increasing CSA severity: non-genital (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.58–3.15), genital (OR 5.24, 95% CI 3.52–8.15) and intercourse (OR 10.65, 95% CI 5.56–23.71). Among the depressed women, those with CSA had an earlier age of onset, longer depressive episodes. Recurrent MD patients those with CSA had an increased risk for dysthymia (OR 1.60, 95%CI 1.11–2.27) and phobia (OR 1.41, 95%CI 1.09–1.80). Any form of CSA was significantly associated with suicidal ideation or attempt (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.20–1.89) and feelings of worthlessness or guilt (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.02–2.02). Intercourse (OR 3.47, 95%CI 1.66–8.22), use of force and threats (OR 1.95, 95%CI 1.05–3.82) and how strongly the victims were affected at the time (OR 1.39, 95%CI 1.20–1.64) were significantly associated with recurrent MD. Conclusions In Chinese women CSA is strongly associated with recurrent MD and this association increases with greater severity of CSA. Depressed women with CSA have some specific clinical traits. Some features of CSA were associated with greater likelihood of developing recurrent MD