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Voiceless in the south: we are cut off from shaping our own future Voiceless in the south: we are cut off from shaping our own future
(2 months later)
I learned an interesting lesson this week: without internet you do not exist. The Guardian Development Professionals Network recently held a live online debate on antimalarial resistance . On the panel were many key figures and experts on malaria. I was so excited.I learned an interesting lesson this week: without internet you do not exist. The Guardian Development Professionals Network recently held a live online debate on antimalarial resistance . On the panel were many key figures and experts on malaria. I was so excited.
As a frontline paediatrician treating children with malaria every day I had many questions to ask experts about recognising resistance in a low resource setting, the value of all the molecular and genetic research currently being done, what quality control measures could we take in our laboratories … and many others.As a frontline paediatrician treating children with malaria every day I had many questions to ask experts about recognising resistance in a low resource setting, the value of all the molecular and genetic research currently being done, what quality control measures could we take in our laboratories … and many others.
I also had my own comments about practices I was seeing here in Cameroon that were contributing to the problem of resistance and wanted to hear other people's experiences.I also had my own comments about practices I was seeing here in Cameroon that were contributing to the problem of resistance and wanted to hear other people's experiences.
I ran home from a busy ward round to log on and participate only to find that my internet wouldn't start! I raced to a nearby café and managed to log on. I was only a few minutes late and already a great debate was taking place, challenging questions were being raised, research was being explained, it was going to be an exciting two hours. I put in my comment about pharmacy prescribing. Someone asked for examples and I was ready with a link to an important Nigerian study and then … nothing. The page wouldn't load.I ran home from a busy ward round to log on and participate only to find that my internet wouldn't start! I raced to a nearby café and managed to log on. I was only a few minutes late and already a great debate was taking place, challenging questions were being raised, research was being explained, it was going to be an exciting two hours. I put in my comment about pharmacy prescribing. Someone asked for examples and I was ready with a link to an important Nigerian study and then … nothing. The page wouldn't load.
I refreshed and refreshed. Low voltage, I was told, slows the internet. I tried a nearby NGO's office and got there just in time for a cut.I refreshed and refreshed. Low voltage, I was told, slows the internet. I tried a nearby NGO's office and got there just in time for a cut.
Hours later the power returned and I was able to read the debate. It was good but was dominated by academics and research bodies. Nobody addressed my frontline, practical questions. I felt disappointed and sad, but worst of all I felt invisible.Hours later the power returned and I was able to read the debate. It was good but was dominated by academics and research bodies. Nobody addressed my frontline, practical questions. I felt disappointed and sad, but worst of all I felt invisible.
Without a good internet connection you have no voice. You cannot participate in online debates. You miss out on opportunities on online learning and recruitment. You cannot network easily with people in your field, share ideas, learn from each other's challenges and even update yourself on advances in your field. Worst of all you cannot tell the world your story.Without a good internet connection you have no voice. You cannot participate in online debates. You miss out on opportunities on online learning and recruitment. You cannot network easily with people in your field, share ideas, learn from each other's challenges and even update yourself on advances in your field. Worst of all you cannot tell the world your story.
The danger of poor internet access is that we have to rely on others to tell our stories for us. A fellow volunteer wrote a blog about her time in Cameroon that was followed by her friends and family back home in Canada. Though her anecdotes were true, her perspective was skewed by her being a foreigner. She did not know the background or cultural context of the many behaviours she commented on and sometimes even ridiculed. Most of my Cameroonian friends who saw her blog found it inaccurate and offensive. But with internet usage charged by the minute and some pages taking a frustrating 3-5 minutes to load, it was difficult to convince them to tell their own story.The danger of poor internet access is that we have to rely on others to tell our stories for us. A fellow volunteer wrote a blog about her time in Cameroon that was followed by her friends and family back home in Canada. Though her anecdotes were true, her perspective was skewed by her being a foreigner. She did not know the background or cultural context of the many behaviours she commented on and sometimes even ridiculed. Most of my Cameroonian friends who saw her blog found it inaccurate and offensive. But with internet usage charged by the minute and some pages taking a frustrating 3-5 minutes to load, it was difficult to convince them to tell their own story.
In not telling our stories, we cannot participate in shaping our future. In medicine, in particular, we cannot draw attention to the everyday clinical problems we are facing. We cannot make them a research priority, because nobody knows about them. Therefore well meaning researchers in universities in the global north determine what studies to fund and what to publish and though these are not always relevant to us in the south in the way they envisage; we cannot give feedback. So they continue developing research that is removed from realities on the ground.In not telling our stories, we cannot participate in shaping our future. In medicine, in particular, we cannot draw attention to the everyday clinical problems we are facing. We cannot make them a research priority, because nobody knows about them. Therefore well meaning researchers in universities in the global north determine what studies to fund and what to publish and though these are not always relevant to us in the south in the way they envisage; we cannot give feedback. So they continue developing research that is removed from realities on the ground.
I don't want to paint the whole of Africa as an internet blackhole. Technology groups and telecom companies are trying to improve internet access across the continent. Ushahidi developed a BRCK: a portable internet storage device that works without electricity in several African countries. In countries where governments have made improving internet access and reliable electricity key priority, the benefits are apparent. Rwanda is now rated as the third easiest country to do business in sub-Saharan Africa and reports improved health services in the area of HIV because of web-based initiatives, after improving access to internet and electricity across the country. Even Obama recognised that development cannot progress without better electricity.I don't want to paint the whole of Africa as an internet blackhole. Technology groups and telecom companies are trying to improve internet access across the continent. Ushahidi developed a BRCK: a portable internet storage device that works without electricity in several African countries. In countries where governments have made improving internet access and reliable electricity key priority, the benefits are apparent. Rwanda is now rated as the third easiest country to do business in sub-Saharan Africa and reports improved health services in the area of HIV because of web-based initiatives, after improving access to internet and electricity across the country. Even Obama recognised that development cannot progress without better electricity.
I used to see developments in technology, particularly in improving internet access as a luxury for the developed world. I believed the governments in low income countries had bigger battles to fight – giants like HIV, infant mortality and food insecurity. While those issues can't, mustn't, be ignored, connectivity should also be made a priority. If for no other reason than to create our own digital footprint; to take ownership of the narrative and tell the rest of the world what we are doing to fight our battles.I used to see developments in technology, particularly in improving internet access as a luxury for the developed world. I believed the governments in low income countries had bigger battles to fight – giants like HIV, infant mortality and food insecurity. While those issues can't, mustn't, be ignored, connectivity should also be made a priority. If for no other reason than to create our own digital footprint; to take ownership of the narrative and tell the rest of the world what we are doing to fight our battles.
Dr Tamara Bugembe is a general paediatric registrar. She is currently volunteering in Cameroon on a VSO/RCPCH fellowship. Her blog Africanchildhealth.com collates and organises current paediatric research involving or relating to African children. Follow @tbugembe on Twitter.Dr Tamara Bugembe is a general paediatric registrar. She is currently volunteering in Cameroon on a VSO/RCPCH fellowship. Her blog Africanchildhealth.com collates and organises current paediatric research involving or relating to African children. Follow @tbugembe on Twitter.
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