Postcolonial transitions in Africa:Decolonization in West Africa and present day South Africa

Black Economic Empowerment is a highly debated issue in contemporary South Africa. Yet few South Africans realize that they are following a postcolonial trajectory already experienced by other countries. This paper presents a case study of British firms during decolonization in Ghana and Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s, which saw a parallel development in business and society to that which occurred in South Africa in the 1990s and 2000s. Despite fundamental differences between these states, all have had to empower a majority of black citizens who had previously suffered discrimination on the basis of race. The paper employs concepts from social capital theory to show that the process of postcolonial transition in African economies has been more politically and socially disruptive than empowerment in Western countries. Historical research contributes to our understanding of the nature of institutional shocks in emerging economies.

"No longer at ease":corruption as an institution in West Africa

This article traces the historical genesis of corruption in two West African countries: Ghana and Nigeria. It argues that corruption in Africa is an institution that emerged in direct response to colonial systems of rule which super-imposed an imported institutional system with different norms and values on an existing institutional landscape, despite the fact that both deeply conflicted and contradicted each other. During decolonization and after independence, corruption, although dysfunctional, fully evolved into an institution that allowed an uneasy cohabitation of colonial and domestic African institutions to grow into a composite, syncretic system facilitated by generalized corruption.

Les migrations féminines du milieu rural vers le milieu urbain au Burkina Faso : faits, causes et implications

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Les migrations féminines du milieu rural vers le milieu urbain au Burkina Faso : faits, causes et implications

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mapping of C4 plant input from North West Africa into North East Atlantic sediments

Mapping the abundance of 13C in leaf-wax components in surface sediments recovered from the seafloor off northwest Africa (0-35°N) reveals a clear pattern of delta13C distribution, indicating systematic changes in the proportions of terrestrial C3 and C4 plant input. At 20°N latitude, we find that isotopically enriched products characteristic of C4 plants account for more than 50% of the terrigenous inputs. This signal extends westward beneath the path of the dust-laden Sahara Air Layer (SAL). High C4 contributions, apparently carried by January trade winds, also extend far into the Gulf of Guinea. Similar distributions are obtained if summed pollen counts for the Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae and the Poaceae are used as an independent C4 proxy. We conclude that the specificity of the latitudinal distribution of vegetation in North West Africa and the pathways of the wind systems (trade winds and SAL) are responsible for the observed isotopic patterns observed in the surface sediments. Molecular-isotopic maps on the marine-sedimentary time horizons (e.g., during the last glacial maximum) are thus a robust tool for assessing the phytogeographic changes on the tropical and sub-tropical continents, which have important implications for the changes in climatic and atmospheric conditions.

Cultural valuation and biodiversity conservation in the Upper Guinea forest, West Africa

The cultural valuation of biodiversity has taken on renewed importance over the last two decades as the ecosystem services framework has become widely adopted. Conservation initiatives increasingly use ecosystem service frameworks to render tropical forest landscapes and their peoples legible to market-oriented initiatives such as REDD+ and biodiversity offsetting schemes. Ecosystem service approaches have been widely criticized by scholars in the social sciences and humanities for their narrow focus on a small number of easily quantifiable and marketable services and a reductionist and sometimes simplistic approach to culture. We address the need to combine methods from each of the “three cultures” of natural science, quantitative social science, and qualitative social science/humanities in conceptualizing the relationship between cultural valuation and biodiversity conservation. We combine qualitative data with forest inventories and a quantitative index of cultural value to evaluate the relationship between cultural valuation and biodiversity conservation in Upper Guinea forest in Liberia, West Africa. Our study focuses on “sacred agroforests,” spaces that are associated with Mande macro-language speaking groups such as the Loma. We demonstrate that sacred agroforests are associated with different cultural values compared with secondary forests. Although biodiversity and biomass are similar, sacred agroforests exhibit a different species composition, especially of culturally salient species, increasing overall landscape agro-biodiversity. Sacred agroforests are also shaped and conserved by local cultural institutions revolving around ancestor worship, ritual, and the metaphysical conceptual category “salɛ.” We conclude that to understand the relationship between cultural valuation and biodiversity conservation, interpretivist approaches such as phenomenology should be employed alongside positivist ecosystem service frameworks.

Les femmes commerçantes et la notion d'épargne: cas des caisses populaires de Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso

Cet essai vise à clarifier la conception que possèdent les femmes commerçantes de Ouagadougou quant à la notion d'épargne. Pour ce faire, la démarche choisie nous a conduit à la réalisation d'une enquête sur le terrain auprès de plus de cent femmes exerçant des activités commerciales dans la capitale. Nous avons ainsi tenté de déceler leurs motivations d'épargne, de mesurer leur attitude envers l'épargne monétaire, de découvrir leurs comportements d'épargne et d'évaluer l'importance qu'elles accordent à certains facteurs jugés déterminants dans la mobilisation de l'épargne. Des résultats comparés entre un groupe de femmes commerçantes non-membres d'une caisse populaire à un groupe de femmes membres nous ont permis de constater que l'obstacle majeur freinant l'adhésion des femmes commerçantes à une caisse populaire est la faible connaissance que ces dernières possèdent de l'existence même des caisses populaires, et par conséquent, des services offerts. Les données recueillies ont ainsi démontré que les femmes commerçantes détiennent de multiples motivations d'épargne, qu'elles ont une attitude favorable envers l'épargne monétaire, et de plus, qu'elles adoptent encore des comportements d'épargne traditionnels. Ces conclusions nous ont par la suite amené à concevoir un plan de communication voué au femmes commerçantes urbaines pour le compte du Réseau des caisses populaires du Burkina Faso. Ce plan s'avère en quelque sorte une série de recommandations sur les éventuelles activités de communication à entreprendre.

L'importance de la communication dans le le transfert des savoirs en milieux interculturels : une expérience de travail au Burkina Faso appuyée d'une recension d'écrits

Cet essai a pour objet de communiquer une expérience de travail vécue dans le cadre d'un projet de coopération échelonné sur trois ans, au Burkina Faso. Il a impliqué deux institutions d'enseignement de niveau pré-universitaire : l'École nationale de santé publique (ENSP) du Burkina Faso et ses professeurs, et le Cégep François-Xavier Garneau de Québec et deux professeurs de Soins infirmiers, dont moi-même. J'ai tenu à classer sous des aspects particuliers les propos qui vont suivre afin d'en faciliter la compréhension pour le lecteur. Je commencerai d'abord par identifier les plus grandes difficultés qui nous confrontent dès que l'on se situe dans un autre système de valeurs que le sien, le projet de coopération lui-même ainsi que mes préalables comme infirmière et professeurs pour cet engagement. Je traiterai ensuite du choc culturel qui nous attend inévitablement dans ce type d'intervention et comment ce choc de culture peut être exorcisé au profit d'un cheminement personnel. Cette réflexion tente également de démontrer l'efficacité d'un modèle d'intervention, dont les prémisses reposent sur le pilier culturel de l'Autre et aussi sur la volonté des partenaires à établir entre eux un climat de confiance et des liens qui laissent de l'espace pour l'amitié. Après seulement, si ces conditions sont présentes, il est réaliste de parler d'échanges et de transfert efficace des savoirs pour un développement durable. Un relevé d'écrits vient soutenir la problématique de ce travail. En appendices, un exposé sur le Burkina Faso est présenté en deux parties : la première partie traite des données officielles du pays et la seconde fait part de souvenirs personnels impérissables. Finalement, un court document traitant du dispositif de santé du Burkina Faso vient compléter le document.

EFFECT OF SORGHUM SEED TREATMENT IN BURKINA FASO VARIES WITH BASELINE CROP PERFORMANCE AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a major subsistence crop throughout the region of Sahel. With the exception of seeds and labour, no agricultural inputs are in general used in sorghum production since the grain is of a relatively low commercial value and the risk of losing the crop to drought, flooding, etc. is substantial. A meta-analysis of 118 field experiments was carried out to identify conditions in which two protective seed treatments could support a yield increase of sorghum in Burkina Faso. The two treatments were: i) treatment with the pesticide Calthio C (thiram and chlorpyrifos) and ii) treatment with an aqueous extract from the plant Eclipta alba . Both treatments were found to produce a yield increase (Medians: Calthio C +199 kg ha-1, P<2x10-9; E. alba +90.5 kg ha-1 P<4x10-4). A strong relative effect of Calthio C on yield (+36%) was found for field experiments with a low baseline yield. A strong relative effect of E. alba extract on yield (+22%) was found for experiments with a low baseline of emergence. ANOVA of the 118 field tests showed that baseline crop performance (yield and emergence) and the effect of seed treatments were strongly linked to geographical location (twelve different villages included). Roots from sorghum in the village showing the strongest effect of both seed treatments (>40% yield increase) were found to carry a comparatively high load of the infectious ascomycetes: Fusarium equiseti , Macrophomina phaseolina and Curvularia lunata .

Le double fardeau épidémiologique chez les personnes âgées en milieu rural africain : tendances de mortalité et causes de décès à Nouna (Burkina Faso)

This study aims to quantify the phenomenon of the double epidemiological burden in Burkin-Faso. Data from Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) were used with a total of 4427 deaths among those aged 50 and over, between 1993 and 2012 (including 2323 for which a cause is clearly diagnosed). The share of deaths due to communicable diseases did not significantly decline over time (-13%; p-value=0.158) while the proportion of deaths from non-communicable causes increased significantly (+178%; p-value<0.001). This resulted primarily from a rise in mortality rates from cardiovascular disease, especially among men. The rise of cardiovascular diseases led to a reduction in the life expectancy at age 50 (-2.65 years) between 1997-2004 and 2005-2012. Mortality from cardiovascular diseases contributes to the double epidemiological burden among the elderly in Burkina Faso.

Analyse Multiniveau des Facteurs Associés au Retard dans la Vaccination des Enfants au Burkina Faso et au Mali

Plusieurs études effectuées dans les pays développés et les pays anglophones d’Afrique montrent que le contexte influence le statut vaccinal des enfants ainsi que l’administration de certains vaccins spécifiques. Cependant, peu d’études ont porté spécifiquement sur les pays d’Afrique francophone, particulièrement ceux du Sahel comme le Burkina Faso et le Mali. En analysant les données provenant des enquêtes démographiques et de santé du Burkina Faso (2010) et du Mali (2006) à travers une approche de régression logistique multiniveau, cet article évalue dans quelle mesure le contexte influence le respect du calendrier vaccinal des enfants de 12 à 59 mois. Les résultats montrent que les variances contextuelles demeurent significatives dans le modèle final même si le respect du calendrier vaccinal reste surtout tributaire des caractéristiques individuelles de l’enfant. Notamment, au Mali, plus le niveau de vie moyen du district de recensement augmente, plus le risque pour un enfant de recevoir un vaccin en retard diminue. Ces résultats invitent les acteurs de la santé publique à mettre en œuvre des approches communautaires ciblant les barrières locales qui empêchent une vaccination correcte des enfants dans ces deux pays.

Endoscopic capacity in West Africa.

Background: Levels of endoscopic demand and capacity in West Africa are unclear. Objectives: This paper aims to: 1. describe the current labor and endoscopic capacity, 2. quantify the impact of a mixed-methods endoscopy course on healthcare professionals in West Africa, and 3. quantify the types of diagnoses encountered. Methods: In a three-day course, healthcare professionals were surveyed on endoscopic resources and capacity and were taught through active observation of live cases, case discussion, simulator experience and didactics. Before and after didactics, multiplechoice exams as well as questionnaires were administered to assess for course efficacy. Also, a case series of 23 patients needing upper GI endoscopy was done. Results: In surveying physicians, less than half had resources to perform an EGD and none could perform an ERCP, while waiting time for emergency endoscopy in urban populations was at least one day. In assessing improvement in medical knowledge among participants after didactics, objective data paired with subjective responses was more useful than either alone. Of 23 patients who received endoscopy, 7 required endoscopic intervention with 6 having gastric or esophageal varices. Currently the endoscopic capacity in West Africa is not sufficient. A formal GI course with simulation and didactics improves gastrointestinal knowledge amongst participants.

Le terroir villageois : un cadre d'analyse pertinent des dynamiques rurales ? Recompositions des pouvoirs locaux autour de la gestion de terres de l'ouest du Burkina Faso

International audience