45 research outputs found
Heroin use in Zanzibar: a survey
No full textHeroin has been a street drug along the East African coast for 25 years (Beckerleg, 1995) but it has only recently been recognised and documented (Kilonzo et al, 2001; Jones & Needle, 2005). Heroin use is risky and HIV transmission an increasing problem (McCurdy et al, 2005). Susan Beckerleg and colleagues uncover high rates of unprotected sex, excessive needle sharing and continued re‐use of old and dirty needles often kept in old tins, pockets, or as most do, hidden under rocks.</jats:p
Structural Violence in a Tourist ‘Paradise’
No full textEAST AFRICA PRESENTS A VIVID EXAMPLE OF GLOBALIZATION AND THE VIOLENCE IT ENGENDERS BOTH STRUCTURALLY AND PHYSICALLY. TOURISM HAS EXPANDED AND DOMINATED THE COASTAL AREA OF FIRST KENYA AND LATER TANZANIA AND LINKED TO IT, THERE HAS BEEN AN EXPANSION OF SEX WORK AND HEROIN USE. SUSAN BECKERLEG AND GILLIAN LEWANDO HUNDT WRITE ABOUT AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE LIVES OF WOMEN HEROIN USERS AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE WAY THAT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FORCES IMPACT ON THEIR HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE. VIOLENCE IS AN EVERYDAY FEATURE OF THEIR LIVES AS THEY SERVICE THE NEEDS OF TOURISTS SEEKING THE PLEASURES OF A ‘TOURIST PARADISE’:. Development (2004) 47, 109–114. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100015
The Rich Expand, the Poor Contract. The Paradox of Macroeconomic Policy in Ethiopia
No full textRich countries have earmarked about 700 million to rescue ailing banks. About 787 billion stimulus package is also in place. The United Kingdom set aside 586 billion fiscal stimulus. Monetary policy has also become expansionary. The US and the UK cut interest rates to zero per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Can low-income countries embark on such expansionary fiscal and monetary policies? Unfortunately not, as the case of Ethiopia demonstratesThe Rich Expand, the Poor Contract. The Paradox of Macroeconomic Policy in Ethiopia
Should Khat Be Banned? The Development Impact
No full text.Khat, Controversy, Answer, Global trade, Ethiopia
The rise of injecting drug use in East Africa: a case study from Kenya
No full textStudies on injecting drug use in East Africa are reviewed. The existingstudies document the spread of heroin injection in Kenya and Tanzania, both countries where HIV rates are high. No data from Uganda on injecting drug use was found by the authors. A case study of the growth of heroin injection in a Kenyan coastal town is presented. The need for needle-exchange programmes and other prevention services is discussed
'Idle and disorderly' khat users in western Uganda
No full textAims: To describe and analyse patterns of khat consumption and the response of the authorities to such drug use in Western Uganda.
Methods: Participant-observation and key informant interviews were carried out in Western Uganda during 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Findings: Khat is legal in Uganda but its use, especially when combined with alcohol and cannabis, is linked with violent crime by many Ugandans. In Western Uganda local government authorities have attempted to crack down on khat: in Bushenyi District they have introduced a by-law; in other districts khat traders and consumers face arrest and charges of being 'idle and disorderly'.
Conclusion: The authorities, by clamping down on khat, because they perceive it to be a cause of violent crime, are targeting a substance that is widely reported in the academic literature to cause apathy, not violence
East African discourses on khat and sex
No full textAim of the study: The study aims to review and analyse the varied East African discourses on the effects of khat use on libido, fertility, transmission of HIV, prostitution and rape.
Materials and methods: The data were gathered between 2004 and 2009 in Kenya and Uganda. Between 2004 and 2005 across Kenya and Uganda a broad survey approach was adopted, involving identification of and travel to production areas, interviews with producers and consumers in rural and urban settings. In addition, a survey of 300 Ugandan consumers was carried out in late 2004. Between 2007 and 2009, an in-depth study of khat production, trade and consumption was conducted in Uganda. This study also employed a mixture of methods, including key informant interviews participant-observation and a questionnaire survey administered to 210 khat consumers.
Results: Khat is associated, by consumers and its detractors alike, with changes in libido and sexual performance. Although there is no evidence to support their claims, detractors of khat use argue that khat causes sexual violence, causes women to enter sex work, and that chewing causes the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including the HIV virus.
Conclusions: In East Africa the discourse on khat and sex has led to consumption of the substances being associated by many people with uncontrolled sexual behaviour. There is no evidence that khat use fuels promiscuity, commercial sex, sexually transmitted diseases or rape. The current discourse on khat and sex touches on all these topics. Local religious and political leaders invoke khat use as a cause of what they argue is a breakdown of morals and social order. In Kenya and Uganda it is women khat consumers who are seen as sexually uncontrolled. In Uganda, the argument is extended even to men: with male khat chewers labelled as prone to commit rape. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
What harm? Kenyan and Ugandan perspectives on khat
No full textWhat harm does khat actually do to users and the communities in which they live? In this article, the health-related, social, economic, and religious arguments of Kenyans and Ugandans for and against khat consumption are reported. The medical evidence for harm from khat is far from compelling, and the East African debate on khat is informed by local political discourses that often are closely connected to issues of ethnicity and the control of resources. As a result, the harm attributed to khat consumption is contested. The objective of most local efforts to curb the use of khat in East African towns is the reduction of social and economic ills. Yet, eliminating khat consumption would not reverse the problems that it is identified as causing
Regulating khat - Dilemmas and opportunities for the international drug control system
No full textBackground: The regulation of khat, one of the most recent psychoactive drugs to become a globally traded commodity, remains hotly contested within different producer and consumer countries. As regimes vary, it has been possible to compare khat policies in Africa, Europe and North America from different disciplinary perspectives.
Methods: Field research was conducted in East Africa and Europe, using a combination of semistructured interviews, participant observation and the analysis of trade statistics.
Results: The research established the significance of khat for rural producers, regional economies, as a tax base and source of foreign exchange. At the same time, khat as a psychoactive substance is associated with health and public safety problems that in turn are met with often ill-informed legislative responses. Bans have in turn lead to the criminalisation of users and sellers and illegal drug markets.
Conclusion: The empirical work from Africa provides a strong argument for promoting evidence-based approaches to khat regulation, harnessing the positive aspects of the khat economy to develop a control model that incorporates the voices and respects the needs of rural producers. Ultimately, the framework for khat may provide both a model and an opportunity for revising the international treaties governing the control of other plant psychoactive-based substances
How ‘Cool’ is heroin injection at the Kenya coast
No full textQualitative research methods were used to contact, observe and interview about 40 heroin users living in a Kenyan coastal town with a lively tourist industry. It was found that injecting practices were similar to those reported in other parts of the world. High status, or 'cool', among heroin users was associated with injecting alone and with personal autonomy. The sharing of injecting equipment, however, did occur. Most users were ill informed about the risk of transmission of HIV through injecting equipment. Injecting heroin can be status enhancing within this subculture. 'Cool' among these heroin users was associated with personal self-control, a key attribute of Swahili culture. Intervention measures should build on local values of the need to maintain individual self-control and discourage the sharing or communal use of equipment to inject heroin
