Ethiopia's Medical Dilemma
Living in an industrialized country like America, and especially in a community such as Bryn Mawr, we are well fed and given excellent healthcare. Despite student complaints that they cannot go to the health center for a cough drop without being asked if they could be pregnant, most students are aware that they are very lucky and appreciate that there are parts of the world that are ravaged by diseases such as Malaria, which kills three children every minute. We donate money, we participate in clothing drives, but it is there that our involvement often ends, and we rarely see how effectively organizations such as Doctors without Border or Unicef ameliorate epidemics and other crisis developing countries. If one judges by the recent outbreak of malaria in Ethiopia; these human rights organizations are not living out the 'I Dream of Africa'-esque humanitarian fantasy that the donors may have imagined.
Unicef, in conjunction with the Ethiopian government has been using what some claim are outdated drugs to fight the disease, which The World Health Organization predicts will infect 15 million of Ethiopia's 65 million population ( three times the normal infection rate) (1) . However, international doctors groups' such as Doctors Without Borders argue that the outdated drugs will be ineffective and may even make the epidemic more severe. There are new drugs that both W.H.O. and Doctors without Borders favor, but they are expensive and it is felt that it might worsen the situation to switch tactics now. And so the problem presents itself: expensive, effective new drugs, or cheaper, older drugs that may not work(1). One can understand the position of the Ethiopian Government so far as that they would like to choose the less expensive option. However, if the treatment they buy is not effective and if the second line of treatment is not possible for many of the citizens, then it is not only in the Ethiopian government's best interest, but also their responsibility to seek out and use a drug that will in fact help their citizens.
In a country with an average life span on 44 years and a death rate of 17.2 percent for children under five, the health care in Ethiopia is already poor and this malaria epidemic is the worst that the country has seen since 1998 (3). Malaria is spread largely by Anopheles mosquitoes and attacks the liver and red blood cells, though it can also attack other organs, depending on the case (4).
This day in age, everything is always compared whether it is social status, racial problems, etc. A popular topic tends to be gender equality and different things both male and females endure, such as the fact that it is a lot easier for men to get a high paying job compared to women. Along the same lines, their suffering is also compared. In Harriet Jacobs, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Jacob’s shares her experiences as a slave including the most traumatizing moments she went through. Although there is no doubt that every slave suffered greatly, women suffered the most during this time period; women went through sexual exploitation, psychological damage, and shame.
It is well known that slavery was a horrible event in the history of the United States. However, what isn't as well known is the actual severity of slavery. The experiences of slave women presented by Angela Davis and the theories of black women presented by Patricia Hill Collins are evident in the life of Harriet Jacobs and show the severity of slavery for black women.
Women slaves were subject to unusually cruel treatment such as rape and mental abuse from their master’s, their unique experience must have been different from the experience men slaves had. While it is no secret that the horrors of the institution of slavery were terrible and unimaginable; those same horrors were no big deal for southern plantation owners. Many engaged in cruelty towards their slaves. Some slave owners took particular interest in their young female slaves. Once caught in the grips of a master’s desire it would have been next to impossible to escape. In terms of actual escape from a plantation most women slaves had no reason to travel and consequentially had no knowledge of the land. Women slaves had the most unfortunate of situations; there were no laws that would protect them against rape or any injustices. Often the slave that became the object of the master’s desires would also become a victim of the mistress of the household. Jealousy played a detrimental role in the dynamic the enslaved women were placed within. Regardless of how the slave felt she could have done little to nothing to ease her suffering.
Ryan CA, Gosselin GJ, DeMaso DR. Habit and tic disorders. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St.
Do you know what Tourette's Syndrome is? Many people think Tourette’s is when a person swears frequently and uncontrollably. That is called coprolalia, which can be a symptom of Tourette’s but often isn't the most common one. Tourette’s is much more than swearing. The media has shed a light on Tourette's, but maybe not the correct light. While Tourette’s is displayed as playful or inappropriate, it’s far from a laughing matter.
Harriet Jacobs describes several situations in which she was harassed, and abused physically, mentally and emotionally. “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.” Women were abused physically
In her story Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs presents what life was like living as a female slave during the 19th century. Born into slavery, she exhibits, to people living in the North who thought slaves were treated fairly and well, how living as a slave, especially as a female slave during that time, was a heinous and horrible experience. Perhaps even harder than it was if one had been a male slave, as female slaves had to deal with issues, such as unwanted sexual attention, sexual victimization and for some the suffering of being separated from their children. Harriet Jacobs shows that despite all of the hardship that she struggled with, having a cause to fight for, that is trying to get your children a better life
Slavery was a horrible institution that dehumanized a race of people. Female slave bondage was different from that of men. It wasn't less severe, but it was different. The sexual abuse, child bearing, and child care responsibilities affected the females's pattern of resistance and how they conducted their lives. Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, demonstrates the different role that women slaves had and the struggles that were caused from having to cope with sexual abuse.
Imagine yourself a female slave, living a life of service on a large plantation during the early-19th century. Imagine waking every morning at dawn to begin a never-ending day of cooking, cleaning, washing, and sewing. Imagine being at the beck and call of a master who not only uses you for daily chores, but also for his personal sexual pleasure. Imagine the inexhaustible fear of his next humiliating request and the deep feelings of shame and remorse for your inability to stand up against him. Imagine lying in bed at the end of the day wishing God would carry you to heaven so you would not have to wake and experience this hell on earth all over again.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth-century, notions of freedom for Black slaves and White women were distinctively different than they are now. Slavery was a form of exploitation of black slaves, whom through enslavement, lost their humanity and freedom, and were subjected to dehumanizing conditions. African women and men were often mistreated through similar ways, especially when induced to labor, they would eventually become a genderless individual in the sight of the master. Despite being considered “genderless” for labor, female slaves suddenly became women who endured sexual violence. Although a white woman was superior to the slaves, she had little power over the household, and was restricted to perform additional actions without the consent of their husbands. The enslaved women’s notion to conceive freedom was different, yet similar to the way enslaved men and white women conceived freedom. Black women during slavery fought to resist oppression in order to gain their freedom by running away, rebel against the slaveholders, or by slowing down work. Although that didn’t guarantee them absolute freedom from slavery, it helped them preserve the autonomy and a bare minimum of their human rights that otherwise, would’ve been taken away from them. Black
The lives of female slaves were a little more trying than that of a male slave. This is partly due to the sexual harassment, which slave women must endure. Sexual relationships between masters and female slaves were very common on the plantation during the eighteenth century. These forced sexual relationships often began with cruel beatings before the slave would submit to savage rapes. Out of fear of pain or death, female slaves had no other alternative but to obey their masters. According to Lyerly, “As many historians of slavery have noted, slave women lived not only with slavery’s routine restraints upon their will; they also had to fight for control over their bodies. Victims of sexual abuse by whites, slave women were often subject to the will of others in the most intimate ways” (209).
The play “Everyman” is about a complacent Everyman who is informed by Death of his approaching end. The play shows the hero’s progression from despair and fear of death to a “Christian resignation that is the prelude to redemption.” Throughout the play Everyman is deserted by things that he thought were of great importance portrayed by characters that take the names of the things they represent.
In conclusion, women were considered property and slave holders treated them as they pleased. We come to understand that there was no law that gave protection to female slaves. Harriet Jacob’s narrative shows the true face of how slaveholders treated young female slave. The female slaves were sexually exploited which damaged them physically and psychologically. Furthermore it details how the slave holder violated the most sacred commandment of nature by corrupting the self respect and virtue of the female slave. Harriet Jacob writes this narrative not to ask for pity or to be sympathized but rather to show the white people to be aware of how female slaves constantly faced sexual exploitation which damaged their body and soul.
Malaria is a deadly disease that is transmitted to humans via bites from infected female mosquitos carrying malaria parasites. People who develop the disease often become “very sick with high fever, shaking chills, and flu-like symptoms” (CDC). According to National Geographic, "malaria now affects more people than ever before. It's endemic to 106 nations, threatening half the world's population…This year malaria will strike up to a half billion people. At least a million will die, most of them under age five, the vast majority living in Africa,” (National Geographic). The high concentration of malaria-afflicted citizens in Africa can be attributed to the conducive climate for mosquitos, the sheer number of mosquitos, and most importantly, the inability for many countries to sustain enough anti-malarial resources, medical care, and preventative measu...
Better aid? More aid? With the latter part of the 20th century bringing significant changes about the infectious disease, malaria, the treatment, has led to the WHO response. World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a global technical plan for malaria between the years 2016-2030. This global technical strategy for malaria provides a framework for all countries contaminated with this infectious disease. The WHO intends for this plan to guide and support regional and programmes as they work towards malaria control and elimination. The strategy sets an ambitious, but achievable goal including; reducing malaria case incidence by at least 90% by 2030, reducing malaria mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030, eliminating malaria in at least 35 countries by 2030 and prevent a resurgence of malaria in all countries that are malaria-free (Fact Sheet about Malaria). The WHO Global Malaria Programme (GMP) coordinates WHO's global efforts to control and eliminate malaria by; setting, communicating and promoting the adoption of evidence-based norms, standards, policies, technical strategies, and guidelines, keeping independent score of global progress, developing approaches for capacity building, systems strengthening, and surveillance and identifying threats to malaria control and elimination as well as new areas for action(Fact Sheet about