Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Jeffrey L Sturchio the American Senior Partner at Rabin Martin and former CEO of the Global Health Council, the world’s largest membership alliance of public health organizations and professionals in more than 140 countries dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world, has been featured in an article by Isolda Agazzi on the IPS News Service titled ‘Tsunami of Diseases Waiting to Hit’ stating “A tsunami is looming on the horizon and the world is unprepared for it. This one won’t be a massive wall of water but a tidal wave of disease – and experts say the international community needs to act fast to keep it from crashing. “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – cancer, heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, among others – have become the leading cause of death worldwide,” Jeffrey Sturchio … told a conference…  “Some 36 million people die from (NCDs) every year, 80 percent of them in low and middle income countries – a figure that will increase by 17 percent in the coming years and by 25 percent in Africa,” he added. Tuberculosis and malaria, in comparison, kill one to two million people around the world every year.“The disease burden is shifting to NCDs, but since developing countries still have to fight infectious diseases, they face a double burden,” Sturchio warned. However, developing countries do not appear to be paying adequate attention to the impending crisis. …financial resources are stretched thin, and it is unlikely that the funds needed to launch a massive global campaign will be readily available. “The reality is that in the last 20 years, tens of billions of dollars in official development assistance have gone to developing countries, mainly (to fight) HIV/AIDS, and it is unrealistic to think that the same will happen again, It will therefore be necessary to capitalise on existing investments and reallocate some of the resources already in circulation” he said.”

Inspired by Isolda Agazzi, IPS News Service ow.ly/in8m3 Image source Global Health TV ow.ly/in8iJ

Yinka Shonibare the 50 year old British-Nigerian artist best known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation, while acknowledging his physical disability as part of his identity and physically incapable of carrying out the making of the work himself, his conceptualism takes on a new angle. Shonibare’s work explores issues of colonialism alongside those of race and class, through a range of media which include painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, and film. Coline Milliard in an article published on Boulin Artinfo states “…Shonibare has long nurtured an ambiguous relationship with the Establishment, past and present. But the artist, a prominent post-colonialist voice in Britain – who …cherishes his recently awarded order of chivalry as Member of the British Empire with a pride that isn’t entirely ironic. Shonibare is a self-proclaimed dandy, an “insider and outsider,” and the 18th century, cradle of that empire, is a constant point of reference both for its political overtones and dazzling aesthetic. …The adoption of a motif so conveniently combining bright patterns and politics has been a blessing and a curse for the artist. Although it provided him with a “brand,” its repetitive use has led to a flattening out of his production, and accusations of one-trick-ponyism. …the fabric serves an array of distinct topics, of which post-colonialism and hybrid identity are only two of the most central. The omnipresence of conflicts, the threat of global warming, and food-sustainability are key concerns for Shonibare. …But no matter how idea-led, there’s always an obvious enjoyment of the material, of the colors, textures, or the craft of well-tailored garments in Shonibare’s production. “I may be interested in a number of issues, but primarily I am an artist, and my job is to take people elsewhere,” the artist has said. “My job is to create a wonderland for them.”

Inspired by Coline Milliard, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/in4R8 Image source Africa SI ow.ly/in4IN

Chibundu Onuzo the 21 year old Nigerian author of her first novel ‘The Spider King’s Daughter’ has published an article in The Guardian titled ‘Africa and the new white man’s burden’, referring to China taking advantage of the Colonialism shadow still casts over the west’s relationships with African countries. Onuzo states “Kipling’s burden was shouldered by men who felt a calling to civilise the “half devil, half child” peoples who apparently proliferated the 19th-century world. …Things have somewhat changed in the 21st century. Many who take up the load of development do so, if not with guilt – for guilt is too unnuanced a term –, then with an acute awareness of all that has preceded their arrival among the less economically developed of the earth. …So they tread carefully, mindful of sensibilities that are both figment and real. They overlook corruption because it is how things are done in Africa. They laud substandard leaders because it is how people are ruled in Africa. To criticise or hold under too deep a scrutiny is to be accused of being an agent of a new type of colonialism. It is true that the phrases neocolonialism and neoimperialism are not obsolete. …There are cries that China’s is a new imperialism. If so, at least it is new and not trapped in a stagnant history of ex-colonisers and their ex-colonies. Hearteningly, China does not hide its wish to make profit out of its dealings with Africa behind altruism or religion or paternalism. …But if China’s dealings in Africa do not point to an attempt to make Beijing a metropolis, then it is better not to recast the Chinese arrival in Lagos as the second act of the British landing in Eko; it is better that history serves as merely a loose reference for dealing with foreign powers.”

Inspired by Chibundu Onuzo, The Guardian ow.ly/hdFxv Image source Twitter ow.ly/hdFrY