In Memoriam Patrick Chabal (1951-2014): An interview with Malyn Newitt (King’s College London)

Philip J. Havik: When did you first meet Patrick? When he joined King’s College as a lecturer in Politics and Modern History of Lusophone Africa in 1984? Or earlier? What was your first impression? Malyn Newitt: I did not have any major contact with Patrick until around 1996. Professor Helder Macedo, the Camões Professor of Portuguese at King’s College London, had completed the negotiations with a number of Portuguese financial institutions and foundations for the establishment of the Charle..

dos intercâmbios intracoloniais às instituições multilaterais de saúde

Trilhando os caminhos da cooperação sanitária na África subsaariana, de intercâmbios incertos a dimensões institucionalizadas dos anos 1920 até início dos anos 1960, este artigo aborda a dinâmica regional na diplomacia sanitária que, até o momento, carece de pesquisas. A evolução, desde os primórdios da Organização da Saúde da Liga das Nações até a Cooperação Técnica na África Subsaariana e o Escritório Regional da África da OMS, demonstra como dimensões bilaterais foram substituídas pelo modelo multilateral da OMS de cooperação sanitária regional. São analisados alinhamentos, divergências e resultados de estratégias e políticas empregados por potências coloniais e Estados africanos independentes em relações inter-regionais, bem como suas implicações em intervenções epidemiológicas e de saúde pública. Tracing the pathways of cooperation in health in sub-Saharan Africa from hesitant exchanges to institutionalized dimensions from the 1920s to the early 1960s, this article addresses regional dynamics in health diplomacy which have so far been under-researched. The evolution thereof from early beginnings with the League of Nations Health Organization to the Commission for Technical Assistance South of the Sahara and the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa, shows how bilateral dimensions were superseded by WHO’s multilateral model of regional cooperation in health. Alignments, divergences, and outcomes are explored with respect to the strategies and policies pursued by colonial powers and independent African states regarding inter-regional relations, and their implications for public health and epidemiological interventions.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Sexually transmitted infections, their treatment and urban change in colonial Leopoldville, 1910–1960

During the colonial period sexually transmitted infections (STIs) came to be recognised as a major public health problem in African cities. Thus, STI control and urban modernisation became deeply entangled as authorities redrew spatial and social boundaries to manage populations and their cross-cultural interaction. Public health measures, urban planning and policing were part of a coordinated effort to neutralise the potential impact of rapidly growing African urban migration on the Belgian Congo’s ‘model’ capital Leopoldville. While STI control was facilitated by new drugs (arsenicals, sulfonamides and antibiotics) to treat syphilis, chancroid, gonorrhoea and chlamydia (bacterial STIs), the effects of the 1929 economic crisis and urban social change illustrated the limits of colonial authority. Redesigning urban spaces and repressive measures to curb polygyny and prostitution operated in a parallel fashion with the expansion of health coverage, new treatments and awareness campaigns. To gain a better understanding of the evolution of STI incidence among African urban populations during the colonial period between 1910 and 1960, extensive archival records and secondary literature were consulted to assess the interplay between improved screening, diagnostic and therapeutic methods with demographic and social change. They show that STI rates, probably peaked during the pre-1929 period and apart from a short period in the early 1930s associated with mass screening, declined until becoming residual in the 1950s. Reflecting upon sanitary interventions and their broader dimensions, the article analyses the evolution of treatment regimes and their impact in the changing urban organisation and environment of the colony’s capital.publishersversionpublishe

In Memoriam Patrick Chabal (1951-2014): An interview with Malyn Newitt (King’s College London)

Philip J. Havik: When did you first meet Patrick? When he joined King’s College as a lecturer in Politics and Modern History of Lusophone Africa in 1984? Or earlier? What was your first impression? Malyn Newitt: I did not have any major contact with Patrick until around 1996. Professor Helder Macedo, the Camões Professor of Portuguese at King’s College London, had completed the negotiations with a number of Portuguese financial institutions and foundations for the establishment of the Charle..

A Mixed-Method Case Study on a Treatment Centre in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal

Funding Information: Funding: R.M.R., L.G., P.J.H. and I.C. were supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for funds to GHTM-UID/04413/2020 and L.G. from UIDB/00006/2020 and UIDP/00006/2020. Funding Information: R.M.R., L.G., P.J.H. and I.C. were supported by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia for funds to GHTM-UID/04413/2020 and L.G. from UIDB/00006/2020 and UIDP/00006/2020. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease associated with poverty. In the European Union TB tends to concentrate in urban settings. In Lisbon, previous studies revealed, the presence of migrant populations from a high endemic country, is one of the risk factors contributing to TB. To better understand TB in foreign-born individuals in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, a mixed-method case study was undertaken on a TB treatment centre in a high-risk part of urban Portugal. Quantitatively, annual TB cases were analysed from 2008 to 2018, dividing foreign-origin cases into recent migrants and long-term migrants. Qualitatively, we explored recent migrants’ reasons, experiences and perceptions associated with the disease. Our results showed that foreign-born individuals accounted for 45.7% of cases, mainly originated from Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Cabo Verde. TB in recent migrants increased over the years for Angola and Guinea-Bissau, while for Cabo Verde TB cases were due to migrants residing in Portugal for more than 2 years. Recent migrants’ reasons to travel to Portugal were to study, to live and work, tourism, and seeking better healthcare. Visiting family and friends, historical links and common language were key drivers for the choice of country. Recent migrants and long-term migrants may present distinct background profiles associated with diagnosed TB.publishersversionpublishe

Newly discovered archival data show coincidence of a peak of sexually transmitted diseases with the early epicenter of pandemic hiv-1

Funding Information: The research done by J.D.S. and A.-M.V. in this study has been supported in part by grant G.0692.14, funded by the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek?Flanders (FWO, http://www.fwo.be/en/ (accessed on 28 July 2021)), Belgium. V.M.?s work in this study has been completed as part of the ELTE Thematic Excellence Programme 2020 supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (TKP2020-IKA-05). Funding Information: Funding: The research done by J.D.S. and A.-M.V. in this study has been supported in part by grant G.0692.14, funded by the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek—Flanders (FWO, http://www.fwo.be/en/ (accessed on 28 July 2021)), Belgium. V.M.’s work in this study has been completed as part of the ELTE Thematic Excellence Programme 2020 supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (TKP2020-IKA-05). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.To which extent STDs facilitated HIV-1 adaptation to humans, sparking the pandemic, is still unknown. We searched colonial medical records from 1906–1958 for Leopoldville, Belgian Congo, which was the initial epicenter of pandemic HIV-1, compiling counts of treated STD cases in both Africans and Europeans. Almost all Europeans were being treated, while for Africans, generalized treatment started only in 1929. Treated STD counts in Europeans thus reflect STD infection rates more accurately compared to counts in Africans. In Africans, the highest recorded STD treatment incidence was in 1929–1935, declining to low levels in the 1950s. In Europeans, the recorded treatment incidences were highest during the period 1910–1920, far exceeding those in Africans. Europeans were overwhelmingly male and had frequent sexual contact with African females. Consequently, high STD incidence among Europeans must have coincided with high prevalence and incidence in the city’s African population. The data strongly suggest the worst STD period was 1910–1920 for both Africans and Europeans, which coincides with the estimated origin of pandemic HIV-1. Given the strong effect of STD coinfections on HIV transmission, these new data support our hypothesis of a causal effect of STDs on the epidemic emergence of HIV-1.publishersversionpublishe

Armazenamento Tradicional na Guiné-Bissau

Traditional Storage in Guinea Bissau is closely linked to food security of its rural population. Storage occurs nearly exclusively on the compound or family level and is subject to complex relationships between family members. Crop protection and storage are highly ritualised domains as they are closely linked to the survival of the families. Any interventions intended to improve or change storage systems, in order to reduce post-harvest losses, which for many crops are very high, therefore have to deal with the internal power structures as well as with the spiritual dimension associated with this basic human activity. A profound knowledge of current practices is therefore of the essence. Traditional storage systems show a clearly ethnic configuration. This report presents the first five results of a study on 11 ethnic storage systems, namely: Mandinga, Beafada, Nalú, Fula de Quebo and Balanta. It details for each crop cultivated the seeds, the harvest methods, the storage system, including receptacles, containers and magazines, (with drawings) and the major threats facing different crops in each stage