An African perspective on the ethics and politics of foreign medical aid in a pandemic

This chapter attempts an interrogation of the political and ethical dimensions of foreign medical aid during a pandemic. One of the moral conundrums that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents to governments of developing countries in the Global South with poor health infrastructure is seeking much needed foreign medical aid without compromising sovereignty, safety, and national integrity, especially from the Global North. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, medical supplies and personnel were offered by China as emergency philanthropy. This chapter provides a novel ethical evaluation of foreign medical aid in a pandemic, using principles of the African ethic of communion. It exposes the values both at play and absent in choosing foreign medics as a complementary strategy, as opposed to full reliance on the competence and initiatives of local medical personnel in tackling the challenges of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The chapter argues that while the values of transparency, consultation, dialogue, and trust building are lacking in the decision-making process that brought the Chinese foreign medics' aid to Nigeria, the act is morally justified by virtue of its potentials to save lives that would otherwise be lost without it. This chapter posits further, however, that China's politicization of its philanthropy undercuts the moral justification of the gesture. It concludes by explicating how the principles of relationality, equity, and harmony embedded within an African moral worldview can provide moral validation for medical philanthropy at a time of pandemic without compromising China's responsibility and Nigeria's national integrity. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.

A Discussion About the Press: Student Perceptions Based on an Activity of the Course "Education Strategies Regarding Ethnic-Racial Relations in the Midst of the Pandemic of Covid-19"

The present work is aimed at dealing with education for ethnic- racial relations, focusing on the analysis of the speeches of the students of the Extension Course "Education Strategies for EthnicRacial Relations in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic", financed by the Dean of Extension and Culture of the Federal University of Rio Grande (PROEXC-FURG). In this wake, the speeches of the course participants serve as a basis for understanding how to formulate a debate about an educational practice with an anti-racist bias. Authors such as Petronilha Goncalves e Silva, Nilma Lino Gomes and Jose Antonio dos Santos, present concepts that are fundamental for the understanding of cultural, social and political elements, constant in different teaching spaces. From a videoclass of the aforementioned Extension Course, related to the black press and abolitionist clubs, a task was proposed for the students. Through the observation of this activity, which questioned students about the importance of the press for the development of an anti-racist education, the objective is to observe the student's view of ethnic-racial relations. The course was held from September to December 2020, and brought a realistic portrait of the students' perceptions;which, in times of a pandemic, could perceive the contributions of journalism (historically speaking) and also in the current period, in view of the ethnic-racial elements and the need for discussion related to them.

Did COVID-19 Make Me an Afro-Pessimist? A Conversation in Three Parts

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage and disproportionately affect BIPOC, we keep count of the death toll around the world, in the U.S., in our own communities and in our own families. How can we have a "wish to live,” while so many around us die? Does a space exist between fateful (faithful) optimism present in Aretha Franklin's, "Mary Don't You Weep?” and the ever-present power structure, that as Reverend Al Sharpton noted, has always had its knee on our necks? More concretely, how do we reconcile what Aisha Durham discusses as "weathering and wounded,” as we sit in the space of being both and not wanting to endure much more. This piece articulates some of the conversations that we have stumbled upon, worked through and raged against from the space of our collective homes and fatigued spirits. It addresses notions of Afro-Pessimism and the intersection of Black Feminist Theory, the role that grief plays in Black Feminist praxis, the role of Diaspora in the historical imagination, and asks the question, "Did COVID and the state-sanctioned killings of Black people make us Afro-Pessimists?”

Loneliness and Psychosocial Resources among Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Older People in Rural Areas of Chile.

(1) Background: loneliness is a problem that becomes increasingly acute in old age, with greater repercussions among socially disadvantaged groups such as indigenous and Afro-descendant older adults. The aim of this research is to analyze the psychosocial variables related to loneliness in old age. (2) Methods: a multi-ethnic sample was involved, with the participation of eight indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant tribal people (n = 1.348). Various gerontological scales previously validated among the Chilean population (De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Brief Resilient Coping Scale, Health Problems Questionnaire, and Family APGAR questionnaire) and a model are contrasted, establishing the relationship between psychosocial variables and loneliness. (3) Results: Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed the existence of indirect relationships between health problems, via family functioning and resilience, and loneliness. Resilience and family functioning were directly related to loneliness (WLSMV-χ2 (df = 345) = 875.106, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.992; TLI = 0.991; RMSEA = 0.034 [C.I. 90% = 0.031-0.037]). (4) Conclusions: loneliness has cross-culturally affected older Chilean people living in rural areas and it appears that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on well-being. This study proves that loneliness is related to several psychosocial variables that can be intervened.

Can Afro-Communitarianism Be Useful in Combating the Challenge of Human Interaction Posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Can Afro-communitarianism serve as a viable ideology for addressing the human interaction challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic? The ongoing pandemic poses many challenges to the normal functioning of societies around the world. For example, it has caused problems ranging from social, economic, and political disruption to various forms of hardship, including pain, suffering, and millions of deaths. One problem that is not attracting sufficient attention is a disruption to human interaction that leads to isolation, depression, mental health, and emotional crises. This paper will investigate whether Afro-communitarianism can function as an ideological option for addressing this challenge. This ideology, in our opinion, can foster social integration and the type of informal solidarity that engenders emotionally helpful interactions among humans. We will also argue that Afro-communitarian orientation can overturn the individualistic tendencies that hamper efforts aimed at curtailing the spread of the coronavirus.

Implementing epidemic intelligence in the WHO African region for early detection and response to acute public health events.

Epidemic intelligence activities are undertaken by the WHO Regional Office for Africa to support member states in early detection and response to outbreaks to prevent the international spread of diseases. We reviewed epidemic intelligence activities conducted by the organisation from 2017 to 2020, processes used, key results and how lessons learned can be used to strengthen preparedness, early detection and rapid response to outbreaks that may constitute a public health event of international concern. A total of 415 outbreaks were detected and notified to WHO, using both indicator-based and event-based surveillance. Media monitoring contributed to the initial detection of a quarter of all events reported. The most frequent outbreaks detected were vaccine-preventable diseases, followed by food-and-water-borne diseases, vector-borne diseases and viral haemorrhagic fevers. Rapid risk assessments generated evidence and provided the basis for WHO to trigger operational processes to provide rapid support to member states to respond to outbreaks with a potential for international spread. This is crucial in assisting member states in their obligations under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005). Member states in the region require scaled-up support, particularly in preventing recurrent outbreaks of infectious diseases and enhancing their event-based surveillance capacities with automated tools and processes.

Sustained COVID-19 community transmission and potential super spreading events at neglected afro-ecuadorian communities assessed by massive RT-qPCR and serological testing of community dwelling population.

Background: Neglected ethnic minorities from underserved rural populations in Latin America are highly vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to poor health infrastructure and limited access to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnosis. Esmeraldas is a mainly rural province of the Coastal Region of Ecuador characterized by a high presence of Afro-Ecuadorian population living under poverty conditions. Objective: We herein present a retrospective analysis of the surveillance SARS-CoV-2 testing in community-dwelling population from Esmeraldas carried out by our university laboratory in collaboration with regional health authorities during the first week of October 2020, in a region where no public SARS-CoV-2 detection laboratory was available at that time. Results: A total number of 1,259 people were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by Reverse Transcription quantitative Polimerasa Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR), resulting in an overall infection rate of 7.7% (97/1259, 95% CI: [6.32-9.35%]) for SARS-CoV-2, up to 12.1% in some communities. Interestingly, community-dwelling super spreaders with viral loads over 108 copies/ml represented 6.2% of the SARS-CoV-2-infected population. Furthermore, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG serological tests were applied to the same study group, yielding an overall seroprevalence of 11.68% (95% CI: [9.98-13.62%]) but as high as 24.47% at some communities. Conclusion: These results support active COVID-19 community transmission in Esmeraldas province during the first semester of the COVID-19 pandemic as it has been shown for other rural communities in the Ecuadorian Coastal Region.

Coordination and Management of COVID-19 in Africa through Health Operations and Technical Expertise Pillar: A Case Study from WHO AFRO One Year into Response.

Background: following the importation of the first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case into Africa on 14 February 2020 in Egypt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for Africa (AFRO) activated a three-level incident management support team (IMST), with technical pillars, to coordinate planning, implementing, supervision, and monitoring of the situation and progress of implementation as well as response to the pandemic in the region. At WHO AFRO, one of the pillars was the health operations and technical expertise (HOTE) pillar with five sub-pillars: case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, laboratory, and emergency medical team (EMT). This paper documents the learnings (both positive and negative for consideration of change) from the activities of the HOTE pillar and recommends future actions for improving its coordination for future emergencies, especially for multi-country outbreaks or pandemic emergency responses. Method: we conducted a document review of the HOTE pillar coordination meetings' minutes, reports, policy and strategy documents of the activities, and outcomes and feedback on updates on the HOTE pillar given at regular intervals to the Regional IMST. In addition, key informant interviews were conducted with 14 members of the HOTE sub pillar. Key Learnings: the pandemic response revealed that shared decision making, collaborative coordination, and planning have been significant in the COVID-19 response in Africa. The HOTE pillar's response structure contributed to attaining the IMST objectives in the African region and translated to timely support for the WHO AFRO and the member states. However, while the coordination mechanism appeared robust, some challenges included duplication of coordination efforts, communication, documentation, and information management. Recommendations: we recommend streamlining the flow of information to better understand the challenges that countries face. There is a need to define the role and responsibilities of sub-pillar team members and provide new team members with information briefs to guide them on where and how to access internal information and work under the pillar. A unified documentation system is important and could help to strengthen intra-pillar collaboration and communication. Various indicators should be developed to constantly monitor the HOTE team's deliverables, performance and its members.

Changes in Pregnant Patients' Beliefs About COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus with data suggesting a more serious clinical course in pregnancy. We aimed to assess changes in knowledge, behaviors, and intentions of pregnant women regarding COVID-19. This was a cross-sectional survey study of 58 and 77 predominantly African-American and Afro-Caribbean pregnant patients presenting for prenatal care in Brooklyn, NY in 2020 (during the first surge of the pandemic) and 2021, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Many beliefs and intentions were unchanged between 2020 and 2021 (e.g. believing pregnant women were at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and subsequent ICU admission due to pregnancy, having the desire to breastfeed, among others). Other beliefs and behaviors changed between 2020 and 2021 (fewer women believed they received information from their provider regarding COVID-19 and fewer would miss a prenatal visit for fear of COVID-19 contagion). Patients' behaviors and intended behaviors in both 2020 and 2021 were directly influenced by their beliefs, many of which were based on unsupported data regarding COVID-19 and pregnancy (ie: babies were at increased risk of being born with congenital malformation following a mother's COVID-19 infection). Patients who held these beliefs were more likely to say that they did not attend prenatal visits and did not receive information from their provider regarding COVID-19. Knowledge of patient beliefs is useful for structuring care as the pandemic evolves. This study demonstrates that pregnant patients make decisions regarding behaviors based on beliefs grounded in misinformation. Accordingly, it is the provider's responsibility to ensure that beliefs regarding COVID-19 are based in fact, so patients can make informed decisions.

Colonial Legacies and African Reparations: What Ubuntu Implies in Terms of the Duties of Europeans

The current COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a strong negative impact on African countries. This is due to the fact that poverty has reduced the ability of these countries to implement health measures that are necessary to address the pandemic. In this article, I contend that colonialism has a role to play in this reduced ability to respond to the current crisis. Hence I argue that Ubuntu ethics imposes responsibility on European governments to aid Africans during this period.

ORISHAS AGAINST THE VIRUS: AFRO-CUBAN CULTS, CYBERSPACE AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The article is devoted to the activity of Afro-Cuban cults, mostly Santeria and Palo, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and tackles issues of sacred visualization as well as the symbolic representation of the epidemic experience. While combining information from digital communities with data collected from informants the author considers the religious and magic rites which are practiced to protect health from the infection. The author analyzes them in the context of traditional spiritual visions. Analysis shows that the main sacred addressee of believers in this process is Orisha Babalu Aye, syncretized with the Catholic Saint Lazarus and mpungu Kubayende. At the same time believers turn to other forces for protection, especially to the ancestral spirits, the so-called egguns. Field materials indicate the emergence of network rituals designed to unite believers during the ban on group religious practices. In this regard, the reflection on the ritual space by Santeria and Palo followers is interesting. The author pays special attention to the activities of the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba which are intended to form the religious and mythological perception of the pandemic as well as to support governmental measures of sanitary control and social distancing. © N. A. MANICHKIN

Memory and Flavors of an Afro-Diasporic Dialogue Toward Food Justice: Contributions from the Venezuelan Experience

The inequalities across the global food system are rooted in structural racism and the increasing hunger across the world. Black, Indigenous, and people of color have been disproportionately affected by food injustice interlinked with other forms of violence and oppression. The current health, food, ecological, and social crisis poses new challenges on the everyday food practices. We consider social memory as a key field to explore the meanings, silences, and resistances of afro-diasporic peoples in relation to food. To answer the question: Which are the meanings of the food systems that are produced, recovered, and transformed from the social memory in the current context of a greater mediatization of racial violence throughout the continent? We started this exploration during the COVID-19 lockdown. Under the project “Flavors of Afro Memory - Sabores de la Memoria Afro” and with the aim of understanding the intersections between food, race, and power, we used social media (Instagram and WhatsApp) to collect testimonies and recipes. From May to December 2020, we receive 43 contributions from afro-descendant people from Venezuela, and other countries from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. From testimonies, recipes, and stories, we found narratives related with diversity, agency, and identity as important aspects for culturally appropriate agendas toward food justice. These aspects are connected with the evocated places, creating territories of Afro-food memories. Finally, we discuss the importance of the afro-diasporic dialogues from the Afro-Venezuelan perspective to contribute to comparative and relational analysis for linking the North–South struggles for black liberation toward food justice.

Mentoring experiences of Afro-Caribbean women principals in an urban context

A robust research literature exists on the importance of quality leadership in education, especially in the principalship. However, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have systemically overlooked women's leadership in education, focusing on the contributions of White men. Undeniable and dramatic shifts have taken place in students' racial and ethnic composition in public schools, with experts predicting decades of continued change. The opportunity gap for these students continues to widen, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The increase in students of color contrasts with the persistent underrepresentation of principals of color, including Afro-Caribbean women principals. However, research shows that seeing building leaders who "look like you" improves the sense of belonging, engagement, and achievement. If America is serious about closing the racial achievement gap, focusing on principals of color is a crucial missing piece. Supporting principals of color must be culturally responsive, leveraging the myriad strengths they bring. This makes mentoring an ideal practice. This qualitative case study explored how Afro-Caribbean women principals' cultural beliefs, mentoring, and leadership practices influenced their careers. Cultural beliefs and Afro-Caribbean heritage were critical to their effectiveness and leadership practices. Mentoring had a consistently positive influence. Nine themes emerged in three domains: 1) cultural beliefs that influence effectiveness: valuing education, strict discipline, and family orientation;2) positive impacts of mentoring: developing as a leader, balancing people and outcomes, and creating a model for mentoring;and 3) critical leadership practices of women Afro-Caribbean School principals: student-centered learning, passion for learning, and professional development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Afro-Indigenous Cosmographies of Mobility: Fishes, Viruses and Others Amazonian Lives at the Confluence With the Sars-CoV-19.

The article aims to demonstrate the susceptibility to death that certain Amazonian peoples are facing, as a consequence of their particular migratory demography, which instead of being curbed, have been exponentially intensified by the outbreak of Sars-CoV-19. The article offers an account of the "pendular migrations" and "return migrations" that the indigenous and black rural populations of that region carry out as a result of daily labor displacements, in the search for medical-hospital assistance and the consolidation of political and legal visibility within the cities. In a second effort, directly related to the previous one, we articulate the interference of the viral threat not on the contingency of population flow, but on the dangerous intensification of people circulation between the territorial nuclei of the "first habitation" and the average Amazonian cities, where, as a rule, these peoples maintain "second residences" and to where they regularly transmigrate. To illustrate this phenomenon, three accounts of different Brazilian Amazonian realities are reported: on the rural black population of the banks of the Turiaçu River, Maranhão state, the indigenous people of the savannah Lavrado, of the northeast of Roraima state, and the Mura people, who live in the southeast region of Amazonas state. On these realities, the cosmographies of the mobility of their populations are challenged by the changes and strategic conditions imposed by the pandemic.