The democracy movement in Zaire 1956-1994

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 199

Les abordages théoriques sur les défis du développement des pays africains et les leçons qu’on peut en tirer

Depuis les indépendances africaines, plusieurs théories ont été formulées sur les défis du développement en Afrique et les voies les plus appropriées pour éradiquer la pauvreté et améliorer le niveau de vie des masses populaires. Malgré leurs incarnations multiples, deux courants théoriques contradictoires continuent d’animer le débat sur ce sujet. Il s’agit du courant hégémonique véhiculé par les pays occidentaux et les institutions financières internationales sous leur contrôle, et le courant contre-hégémonique des progressistes africains. Quelles leçons pouvons-nous tirer de ces deux approches contradictoires sur les défis du développement en Afrique?Desde as independências africanas, várias teorias foram formuladas sobre os desafios do desenvolvimento na África e as formas mais adequadas de erradicar a pobreza e melhorar o padrão de vida das massas populares. Apesar de suas encarnações múltiplas, duas correntes teóricas contraditórias continuam a animar o debate sobre o assunto. Uma é a corrente hegemônica defendida pelos países ocidentais e pelas instituições financeiras internacionais sob seu controle, e a contra-corrente levada a efeito pelos progressistas hegemônicos africanos. Que lições podemos tirar dessas duas abordagens contraditórias para os desafios do desenvolvimento na África

Introduction

I am extremely proud to present this sixth volume of our undergraduate research journal in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies. Some of the papers in this issue were originally presented at our annual undergraduate research conference, where the best of our students exhibit their love of learning and commitment to research in the sciences and the humanities

The Covid-19 Pandemic and State Fragility: The Case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a test for political systems all over the world, and more so for developing countries with less endowed hospitals and public health facilities. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) faced this challenge when the pandemic was at its height, but the country registered a smaller number of both patients infected with the disease and those who died from it in comparison to developed countries. The most important lesson from the pandemic for the DRC is the need to improve hospital and other public health facilities in the country for all citizens

Etude observationnelle sur l’hémovigilance transfusionnelle à Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo: Haemovigilance in blood transfusion: an observational study from Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Context and objective. Although most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have transfusion centers, haemovigilance data are paradoxically scarce. The objective of the present study was to identify the recipient adverse effect (RAT) of blood transfusion. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study in two blood transfusion centers in Kinshasa, between July and November 2015. The general principles of haemovigilance during the transfusion episode were observed to identify the EIR. On each blood product, bacteriological, immunological, serological and parasitic analyzes were systematically performed. Results. 346 subjects were enrolled (female, 53.2%).The overall frequency of RAT during transfusion was 2.9%. It was most commonly urticaria (5 cases), pruritus (4 cases), fever (3 cases) and vomiting (3 cases). Control tests on patients with RAT yielded the following results: 2 seropositive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), 2 seropositive for Hepatitis C virus (HVC), and 1 seropositive for Rapid Plasma Reagent (RPR) test. Conclusion. RAT is relatively common in Kinshasa due partially to compatibility error. The observance of the protocols of haemovigilance system is not optimal in both hospitals studied. A large multicenter study should be performed to better identify the concerns and thus secure blood products. Contexte et objectif. Bien que la plupart de pays d’Afrique subsaharienne aient de centres transfusionnels, mais les données sur l’hémovigilance sont paradoxalement fragmentaires. L’objectif de la présente étude était d’identifier l’effet indésirable du receveur (EIR) transfusionnel. Méthodes. Nous avons réalisé une étude observationnelle transversale dans deux centres de transfusion sanguine à Kinshasa, entre juillet et novembre 2015.Les principes généraux de l’hémovigilance au cours de l’épisode transfusionnel ont été observés en vue d’identifier l’EIR. Pour tout cas d’EIR, le contrôle du groupe sanguin, des analyses bactériologique, immunologique (test de compatibilité), sérologique et parasitaire ont été systématiquement effectués dans la poche du produit sanguin labile (PSL) et du receveur. Résultats.346 sujets ont été enrôlés (sexe féminin, 53,2%).La fréquence globale d’EIR durant la transfusion a été de 2,9%.Il s’agissait de l’urticaire (5 cas), d’un prurit (4 cas), de la fièvre (3 cas) et de vomissements (3 cas). Alors qu’en milieu alcalin, tous les tests étaient compatibles, deux cas d’incompatibilités ont été observés à la fois en milieu albumineux et de Coombs. Après contrôle de qualité des cas ayant présenté l’EIR, 5 PSL de donneurs se sont révélés positifs (HIV, 2 cas ; HVC, 2 cas et rapid plasma reagen test, RPR, 1 cas). Conclusion. L’EIR est relativement fréquente à Kinshasa due en partie par une erreur de compatibilité. L’observance des protocoles du système de l’hémovigilance n’est pas optimale dans les deux formations étudiées. Une étude multicentrique à grande échelle est à envisager pour mieux identifier les écueils de l’hémovigilance et ainsi sécuriser les PSL

Carence en fer, anémie et anémie ferriprive chez les donneurs de sang à Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo

Introduction: En République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), plus d'un million de don de sang ont été réalisés entre 2007 et 2011. Cependant, aucun bilan portant sur la carence en fer et l'anémie ferriprive, conséquence d'un don de sang chez les donneurs de sang (DS), n'est disponible dans ce pays. L'objectif de cette étude était d'estimer la prévalence de la carence en fer, de l'anémie et de l'anémie ferriprive chezles DS au Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine (CNTS) à Kinshasa en RDC. Méthodes: Entre Décembre 2012 et Août 2013, une étude transversale a été menée au CNTS où des DS éligibles au don de sang ont été inclus. Les informations socio démographiques et des prélèvements sanguins ont été collectés de manière simultanée au don de sang. La ferritine sérique a été dosée pour évaluer la carence en fer en utilisant la technique ELISA. L'hémogramme a été réalisé en vue d'évaluer et mettre au point l'anémie. Résultats: Au total 386 DS ont été inclus dans cette étude. La prévalence de la carence en fer et de l'anémie ferriprive étaient respectivement de 63,2% (244/386) et 25,9% (100/386) des DS. Une anémie a été trouvée chez 36.5% (141/386) au moment du don de sang. Conclusion: La carence en fer, l'anémie et l'anémie ferriprive demeurent très fréquentes chez les DS à Kinshasa. Ces résultats suggèrent la révision des tests biologiques utilisés dans le recrutement des DS au CNTS. Par ailleurs le dosage de la ferritine s'impose en routine chez les DS régPan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Managing Spoilers in a Hybrid War: The Democratic Republic of Congo (1996-2010)

Scholarship on the management of spoilers in a hybrid type of conflict is almost non-existent. Through an examination of the recent Congolese wars and peace efforts (1996–2010), we develop an understanding of how spoilers are managed in a conflict characterised by both interstate and intrastate dynamics. Certainly, more strategies of dealing with spoiler behaviours in this type of conflict are likely to emerge as similar cases are investigated, but our discussion recommends these non-related, but strongly interacting principles: the practice of inclusivity, usually preferred in the management of spoilers, is more complex, and in fact ineffective, particularly when concerned groups’ internal politics and supportive alliances are unconventional. Because holding elections is often deemed indispensable in peacemaking efforts, it is vital that total spoilers be prevented from winning or disrupting them. The toughest challenge is the protection of civilians, especially when the state lacks a monopoly on the use of violence and governance remains partitioned across the country

Contagion or Confusion? Why Conflicts Cluster in Space

Civil wars cluster in space as well as time. In this study, we develop and evaluate empirically alternative explanations for this observed clustering. We consider whether the spatial pattern of intrastate conflict simply stems from a similar distribution of relevant country attributes or whether conflicts indeed constitute a threat to other proximate states. Our results strongly suggest that there is a genuine neighborhood effect of armed conflict, over and beyond what individual country characteristics can account for. We then examine whether the risk of contagion depends on the degree of exposure to proximate conflicts. Contrary to common expectations, this appears not to be the case. Rather, we find that conflict is more likely when there are ethnic ties to groups in a neighboring conflict and that contagion is primarily a feature of separatist conflicts. This suggests that transnational ethnic linkages constitute a central mechanism of conflict contagion. © 2008 International Studies Association

‘Savage times come again’ : Morel, Wells, and the African Soldier, c.1885-1920

The African soldier trained in western combat was a figure of fear and revulsion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. My article examines representations of African soldiers in nonfictional writings by E.D. Morel about the Congo Free State (1885-1908), the same author’s reportage on African troops in post-First World War Germany, and H.G. Wells’s speculative fiction When the Sleeper Wakes (1899, 1910). In each text racist and anti-colonialist discourses converge in representing the African soldier as the henchman of corrupt imperialism. His alleged propensity for taboo crimes of cannibalism and rape are conceived as threats to white safety and indeed supremacy. By tracing Wells’s connections to the Congo reform campaign and situating his novel between two phases of Morel’s writing career, I interpret When the Sleeper Wakes as neither simply a reflection of past events in Africa or as a prediction of future ones in Europe. It is rather a transcultural text which reveals the impact of European culture upon the ‘Congo atrocities’, and the inscription of this controversy upon European popular cultural forms and social debates

Covid-19 and the Return of the State in Africa

Abstract: As African countries battled the Covid-19 crisis in 2020, one of the questions that were raised was whether the state was taking a central stage in the affairs of society, especially solutions to major problems. The question was triggered by the fact that there has been a decline in the capacity, role and prestige of the state in Africa for decades. Yet it seems that the responses to Covid-19, following the WHO guidelines, have placed the state at the centre, without dislocating other stakeholders like the private sector and the civil society. This paper uses the evidence from a select number of African countries of different sizes in various regions of the continent to provide an empirical perspective on the role of the state in Covid-19 responses in 2020 to answer the question of whether Covid-19 has occasioned a return of the state, thus reversing the neoliberal designs in favour of a lean and mean state in Africa