Can I Get an “Amen”? Affirming the Contemporary Ghanaian Usage of Amen

Altogether then, the claim that amen as used in the instances we have discussed is inappropriate is found to lack firm biblical or etymological foundation. Neither does the suggestion that if it is a vestige of African worship culture then that provides a reasonable ground for thus condemning it. While it is recognized that amen is often babbled from mental laxity, it is suggested that the problem lies not in amen, as a word, but in the person, as a worshipper. Amen is a rich word, capable of communicating a spectrum of positive human intellectual and emotional responses to worship; a spectrum that fits squarely within the umbrella of acceptance 2018, vol. 14 no. 2 and assent. G. B. Funderburk (1976:127) is correct is assessing that amen is “far more meaningful than a stop or signing-off word by which a prayer, song or declaration is terminated. It carries the weight of approval, confirmation, and support for what is said or sung.” Therefore, amen does not need to be curtailed to a few formal, highly rehearsed schemes of worship. It should be embraced as the bona fide, effective, biblical expression of assent it can be in contemporary Christian worship

A philosophical theology of personhood in the digital: the case of Ghana’s Young Christians

Using young Ghanaian Christians as a case study, this thesis provides a theological investigation of the digital mediation of personhood. It unearths a reconceptualisation of digital culture in which theological anthropology plays a central role. My methodology consists of a critical examination of online and offline sources, and qualitative research. Online sources comprise sermons delivered on Christian identity from a gender perspective by respected charismatic preachers in Ghana, news reports on digital culture from other parts of the world, and social media content produced by online influencers and activists. Qualitative research includes semi-structured interviews and focus groups that aim to unearth the motivations for and reception of digital content production and consumption among Ghanaian Christians 18-35years old. It treats these in relation to standard projections of selfhood from preached theology, obtained from a variety of online and print sources, to establish points of convergence and divergence. Conceptual themes addressed include, primarily, authenticity, authority, and reflexivity. Secondarily, questions of community, autonomy, and agency are also dealt with, and their gendered presentation in conventional discourse spaces like the church pulpit and publications, as well as on new digital media, is critically engaged. The study finds evidence of a strong subjective sense of autonomy and freedom that attends the online activities of respondents, a finding that coheres with findings from other contexts. But this is problematised in relation to critical scholarly assessments of the deterministic potential of AI based social media algorithms and the market logics that dictate their design and deployment. It argues that online agency displays a mixed picture of high and low reflexivity. Activist projects show strongly reflexive approaches to identity, while the promotion of Christian lifestyle content often extends existing logics of legitimation that flow from ecclesiastical authorities. Overall, it finds that while the Ghanaian situation is culturally and contextually specific, it shares fundamental similarities with what has been observed in other parts of the world. Based on these findings, it substantiates its central claim: despite legitimate concerns over digitality’s potential to promote consumeristic conceptions of self, theological anthropology can help unlock a reconceptualisation of Christian digital culture as a site for Christian self-discovery and realisation. This argument informs a constructive turn in which the work of Søren Kierkegaard provides a launchpad for a theological anthropological reimagination of personhood in a social, relational, and networked modality. This reimagination takes into consideration not only the outer appearance of digital behaviours, but also a conception of the aspirational roots of those behaviours rooted in Kierkegaard’s participatory anthropology

Of farms, legends, and fools: Re-engaging Ghana’s development narrative through social media

As social media democratize participation in the public sphere, new voices are emerging that challenge the status quo of public political discussion in important ways. In particular, social media are allowing ordinary citizens to offer their appraisals of government policy and their diagnoses of the problems besetting development. Through a rhetorical analysis of online videos by selected social commentators, we show how development is framed by today’s Ghanaian youth as an engagement with local and global vistas. Although lacking in nuanced historical and theoretical framing, and espousing an idealized-Western vision of development, our interlocutors play an important role in spurring active youth engagement in democratic discourse and in bringing to the popular stage contemporary national and global discourses surrounding development, identity, and the role of digital media in shaping modern public debate in democratic societies. </jats:p

A cross-sectional study of 'yaws' in districts of Ghana which have previously undertaken azithromycin mass drug administration for trachoma control.

Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue, is reportedly endemic in Ghana. Mass distribution of azithromycin is now the cornerstone of the WHO yaws eradication campaign. Mass distribution of azithromycin at a lower target dose was previously undertaken in two regions of Ghana for the control of trachoma. Ongoing reporting of yaws raises the possibility that resistance may have emerged in T. pallidum pertenue, or that alternative infections may be responsible for some of the reported cases. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in thirty communities in two districts of Ghana where MDA for trachoma had previously been conducted. Children aged 5-17 years with ulcerative lesions compatible with yaws were enrolled. Samples for treponemal serology and lesion PCR were collected from all children. 90 children with 98 lesions were enrolled. Syphilis serology was negative in all of them. PCR for T. pallidum ssp pertenue was negative in all children, but Haemophilus ducreyi DNA was detected in 9 lesions. In these communities, previously treated for trachoma, we found no evidence of ongoing transmission of yaws. H. ducreyi was associated with a proportion of skin lesions, but the majority of lesions remain unexplained. Integration of diagnostic testing into both pre and post-MDA surveillance systems is required to better inform yaws control programmes

A Single Dose Oral Azithromycin versus Intramuscular Benzathine Penicillin for the Treatment of Yaws-A Randomized Non Inferiority Trial in Ghana.

BACKGROUND:Yaws is a treponemal infection that was almost eradicated fifty years ago; however, the disease has re-emerged in a number of countries including Ghana. A single-dose of intramuscular benzathine penicillin has been the mainstay of treatment for yaws. However, intramuscular injections are painful and pose safety and logistical constraints in the poor areas where yaws occurs. A single center randomized control trial (RCT) carried out in Papua New Guinea in 2012 demonstrated the efficacy of a single-dose of oral azithromycin for the treatment of yaws. In this study, we also compared the efficacy of a single oral dose of azithromycin as an alternative to intramuscular benzathine penicillin for the treatment of the disease in another geographic setting. METHODOLOGY:We conducted an open-label, randomized non-inferiority trial in three neighboring yaws-endemic districts in Southern Ghana. Children aged 1-15 years with yaws lesions were assigned to receive either 30mg/kg of oral azithromycin or 50,000 units/kg of intramuscular benzathine penicillin. The primary end point was clinical cure rate, defined as a complete or partial resolution of lesions 3 weeks after treatment. The secondary endpoint was serological cure, defined as at least a 4-fold decline in baseline RPR titre 6 months after treatment. Non- inferiority of azithromycin treatment was determined if the upper bound limit of a 2 sided 95% CI was less than 10%. FINDINGS:The mean age of participants was 9.5 years (S.D.3.1, range: 1-15 years), 247(70%) were males. The clinical cure rates were 98.2% (95% CI: 96.2-100) in the azithromycin group and 96.9% (95% CI: 94.1-99.6) in the benzathine penicillin group. The serological cure rates at 6 months were 57.4% (95% CI: 49.9-64.9) in the azithromycin group and 49.1% (95% CI: 41.2-56.9) in the benzathine penicillin group, thus achieving the specified criteria for non-inferiority. CONCLUSIONS:A single oral dose of azithromycin, at a dosage of 30mg/kg, was non-inferior to a single dose of intramuscular benzathine penicillin for the treatment of early yaws among Ghanaian patients, and provides additional support for the WHO policy for use of oral azithromycin for the eradication of yaws in resource-poor settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Pan African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR2013030005181 http://www.pactr.org/

Global epidemiology of yaws: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: To achieve yaws eradication, the use of the new WHO strategy of initial mass treatment with azithromycin and surveillance twice a year needs to be extended everywhere the disease occurs. However, the geographic scope of the disease is unknown. We aimed to synthesise published and unpublished work to update the reported number of people with yaws at national and subnational levels and to estimate at-risk populations. METHODS: We searched PubMed and WHO databases to identify published data for prevalence of active and latent yaws from Jan 1, 1990, to Dec 31, 2014. We also searched for ongoing or recently completed unpublished studies from the WHO yaws surveillance network. We estimated yaws prevalence (and 95% CIs). We collected yaws incidence data from official national surveillance programmes at the first administrative level from Jan 1, 2010, to Dec 31, 2013, and we used total population data at the second administrative level to estimate the size of at-risk populations. FINDINGS: We identified 103 records, of which 23 published articles describing 27 studies and four unpublished studies met the inclusion criteria. Prevalence of active disease ranged from 0·31% to 14·54% in yaws-endemic areas, and prevalence of latent yaws ranged from 2·45% to 31·05%. During 2010-13, 256 343 yaws cases were reported to WHO from 13 endemic countries, all of which are low-income and middle-income countries. 215 308 (84%) of 256 343 cases reported to WHO were from three countries-Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Ghana. We estimated that, in 2012, over 89 million people were living in yaws-endemic districts. INTERPRETATION: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Ghana should be the focus of initial efforts at implementing the WHO yaws eradication strategy. Community-based mapping and active surveillance must accompany the implementation of yaws eradication activities. FUNDING: None

Chloroquine-treatment failure in northern Ghana: roles of pfcrt T76 and pfmdr1 Y86

Although chloroquine (CQ) monotherapy is now generally inadequate for the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in northern Ghana--recently, 58% of 225 children failed treatment by day 14--use of the drug continues because of its low cost and wide availability. The risk factors associated with CQ-treatment failure in this region of Africa, including the T76 mutation in the chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt) gene and the Y86 mutation in the multidrug resistance (pfmdr1) gene of P. falciparum, have now been investigated, and genotype-failure indices (GFI) have been calculated. Treatment failure was found to be associated with young age, poor nutritional status, pfcrt T76 and pfmdr1 Y86, and early treatment failure (ETF) was also associated with high parasitaemia. The presence and concentration of 'residual' CQ in the blood of patients immediately before they were treated with CQ for the present study appeared to have no effect on outcome. Presence at recruitment of pfcrt T76 or pfmdr1 Y86 or both mutations increased the risk of treatment failure by 3.2-, 2.4- and 4.5-fold, and the risk of ETF by 9.8-, 2.7- and 10.2-fold, respectively. The pfcrt T76 GFI for clinical and all treatment failures were 2.8 and 1.4, respectively. These indices were relatively low in the younger children, those with malnutrition, and those with high parasitaemias when treated. Residual CQ did not affect the GFI substantially. Both pfcrt T76 and, to a lesser extent, pfmdr1 Y86 would be useful tools for the surveillance of CQ resistance in northern Ghana. In the current transition phase to alternative first-line treatment for P. falciparum malaria, it should be possible to provide estimates of the level of CQ resistance by monitoring the prevalences of these mutation

A Cross-Sectional Study of ‘Yaws’ in Districts of Ghana Which Have Previously Undertaken Azithromycin Mass Drug Administration for Trachoma Control. Study dataset

Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue, is reportedly endemic in Ghana. Mass distribution of azithromycin is now the cornerstone of the WHO yaws eradication campaign. Mass distribution of azithromycin at a lower target dose was previously undertaken in two regions of Ghana for the control of trachoma. Ongoing reporting of yaws raises the possibility that resistance may have emerged in T. pallidum pertenue, or that alternative infections may be responsible for some of the reported cases. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in thirty communities in two districts of Ghana where MDA for trachoma had previously been conducted. Children aged 5–17 years with ulcerative lesions compatible with yaws were enrolled. Samples for treponemal serology and lesion PCR were collected from all children. 90 children with 98 lesions were enrolled. Syphilis serology was negative in all of them. PCR for T. pallidum ssp pertenue was negative in all children, but Haemophilus ducreyi DNA was detected in 9 lesions. In these communities, previously treated for trachoma, we found no evidence of ongoing transmission of yaws. H. ducreyi was associated with a proportion of skin lesions, but the majority of lesions remain unexplained. Integration of diagnostic testing into both pre and post-MDA surveillance systems is required to better inform yaws control programmes

Analysis of Serological Cure by Baseline RPR Titre.

<p>Analysis of Serological Cure by Baseline RPR Titre.</p