Tyranny By The Majority in One of Africa’s Functional Theocracies

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When we think of tyrannical theocratic regimes our minds go to the Middle East. Countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Yemen feature strongly. These nations, unfortunately, appear to hold the monopoly on using centuries old religious laws as tools of oppression. The truth is however very far from that. Theocratic regimes are all over the world. Ghana is using family values to take an inflexible stance on issues related to sexual expression. The nation appears to be held in Read More…

Global Pandemic Control: Where Did We Go Wrong?

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It is 18 months since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 as a global pandemic. The global deaths now is 8467, more than what was reported in the worst days of April and May 2020. The geographic distribution of the deaths is however different. In the early days most of the deaths were in the US and several western European countries. Today the deaths are mostly from low and middle income nations and in many cases the numbers are increasing. In 2020 most of us could blame the deaths Read More…

Peering Through A Smoky Glass Screen: Visions of The New Post Covid-19 Workplace

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Vaccine implementation across the country is giving way to easing of social distancing restrictions. With successful vaccine deployment many are getting ready to transition back to a physical work environment. As we transition towards a physical workplace, we will need to remember the many individuals in various work situations who never had the luxury of working remotely. We need to remember that many had to manage in a hybrid work environment. The transition to a physical workplace, thus, meaRead More…

Are Human Rights Only Important After We Have Addressed Economic Hardships?

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Over the past weekend I started a campaign to draw attention to Ghanaian gay rights activists arrested in Ghana. These activists were arrested at a conference organized to raise awareness in the community on frequent acts of aggression and harassment by the police and civil society against their community members. The campaign was embraced by many but I got some very useful feedback. In this post I will share just a few for us to consider. I will like to ask this question; “Are human rights oRead More…

On Diversity: What 7 years at Motown Taught Me

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I was 12 years when I went to Achimota school. The New Hope pupil from Korle bu, became an Achimotan. By the time I left the school 7 years later, the ideals of the school formed the superstructure into which a lot of my life would fit. I had been taught how to spell in New Hope, in Achimota I learnt how to punctuate, and formulate. I had learnt Arithmetic in New Hope, in Achimota I learnt logical reasoning. I had learnt how to obey rules in New Hope, in Achimota I learnt how to question. I sanRead More…

What Does One Do When A Pandemic Celebrates 40 years?

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Yes it is 40 years old now and I can say I have known it most of these 40 years. How does one celebrate a pandemic? As someone who went through my teens in the 80s, I was scared of it. As a medical student and physician I saw many patients die of it. At some time in Ghana almost of all those diagnosed where admitted to an isolation unit. Many never went home from that unit. Sometimes it was because the families will not take them back. Usually, they died before they were stable enough to go hRead More…

The Evolution of My African Religious Identity: A Struggle for Cultural Synchrony

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Current data suggests that many African countries appear on the list of the most religious countries in the world. A closer look at our religious identities suggests that most Africans belong to two major religious groups Christianity and Islam. Pew Research suggests that there are more professing Christians in Africa than in any continent in the world. This often begs the question “what did Africans believe before their conversion to these foreign religious faiths?” Others, may wonder at wRead More…

It is Not All About Slavery: Decoding The Roots of US Racial Inequities

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The debate over paying reparations for US Blacks is a centuries old question. It starts way back in the early days of “40 acres and a mule”. Today most of us know what became of that very good intention. Some blacks got land and maybe some mules. Unfortunately, as soon as the sheriff in town changed those without any power of their own lost what had been given to them. Andrew Johnson, a Southerner who took over after Lincoln’s assassination quickly reversed these statutes. So, the question on rRead More…

The Unique Art of Cursing

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My cousin Kofi who lives in Detroit had been trying to reach me for days. Our schedules did not allow me to call at a reasonable time. I had not been able to keep several promises to call him either. Since I knew he was an early bird, I decided to call him one Friday morning on my drive to the hospital. Note that I set off for work around 6:15 am. I called up Siri. She responded.I stated my cousin’s name and asked her to call him. She replied, “Calling Kofi D.”Well, I had forgotten thaRead More…

The Church As A Tool of White Supremacy: Do All Lives Matter In America?

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The tenets of modern-day Christianity have been reduced to mere perfunctory: church attendance, anti-gay, and anti-abortion rhetorics! Is Jesus’ message of love, selflessness, and evangelism that difficult to practice?! Some Christians these days have replaced Jesus’ message with sticking their noses into other people’s goddamn business! For such people, Jesus’s dictum “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” Luke 6:20 would be interpreted as “JESUS hates thRead More…

What Lessons Did We Learn From Our History?

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Our Current Seat Of Government In the 17th century, the white castle on the Osu scarp called Christiansborg, stood tall. But very little Christian happened within its walls. For centuries, it was the destination of the doomed. It was the bastion of oppression, repression and dehumanization of many who were trapped in it. Within its walls men gave up their wives, chiefs gave their people up. People were sold there for guns, dutch wax, rum…. and less. Only in history are such ironies entrencRead More…

Vaccine Inequality & International Vaccine Diplomacy; What is The Solution?

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In the past months with Covid-19 vaccines available in many countries, implementation programs are rolling out across the globe. The effectiveness of such programs is very important in curbing further spread of the pandemic. Vaccines will be key in reducing unnecessary loss of life and ushering us into a new normal way of life. In the US though, those who were most affected by the pandemic are lagging behind in access to vaccines. The infographic below from a publication by the Kaiser Family FRead More…

Did We Defend and Protect The Lives of The Most Vulnerable Among Us?

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In the past one year we have lost more than half a million Americans to Covid-19. My worst estimate in March 2020 was a quarter of a million in a year. At that time I was very confident we would not even get close to it. So maybe I was wrong on the virus!! I did not really understand how effective the virus was at spreading. On deeper introspection, I realize that my miscalculation was not with the virus but our behavior, policies, and public health infrastructure. Sanjay Gupta interviewed the Read More…

How Good Are We At Comparing Vaccine Efficacy?

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Different countries have so far approved more than 6 Covid-19 vaccines mostly by Emergency Use Authorizations. With this development a few questions keep popping up. One such question is on how the vaccines stack up against each other. Last week, a friend that I had not spoken to in ages called. After talking to her I realized I had not followed my own advice to physically distance rather than socially distance. My old colleague needed advice for a friend on vaccination. A close friend of hers Read More…

AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccines and Blood Clots: Is There Any Cause For Concern?

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The side effect of a vaccine becomes significant if that complication’s occurrence is higher than pertains in the general population.Let’s take Bell’s Palsy, aka partial facial paralysis, as an example. In the general population, it has an incidence of 15 – 30 per 100,000 people. Among those who received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in their Phase III trials, the incidence was 17.7 per 100,000. Thus one can infer that those vaccines do not lead to a higher incidence of Bell’s Palsy. This briRead More…

Where Are We Going As A Nation? Are We on The Path To Freedom or Reeling Down the Ravine To Anarchy?

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On January 6th, 2021 a mob of mostly white Americans stormed the US Capitol attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. These individuals sought to prevent the certification of the results and the inauguration of President Biden. The desired outcome of these rebels was to usher in another 4 years of the Trump Presidency. Seeing the events unfold on TV that day totally derailed the rest of my day. I lost my focus and could no longer concentrate. As one who emigrated to this country in 200Read More…

What Are Our Healthcare Workers Who Have Completed Their Vaccines Are Saying?

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This post is my attempt to bring the vaccine experience to a larger audience. To do this I polled about 500 vaccine recipients over about 24 days. A prior survey that I conducted suggested that many individuals were taking a wait-and-see attitude with Covid-19 vaccinations. This is not surprising to me; in my experience every community has individuals who like to take their time to adopt new ideas. The fact that our current vaccines use a new technology may be aggravating this situation. SomeRead More…

“Black Don’t Crack!!” Is This Really True?

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The saying goes “Black don’t crack!” Is this really true? I believe this saying not because I am black but because I have enough proof to support it. One of my high school classmates whose name I would not reveal just turned 50 years; the last time I saw him about 2 years ago he could have passed for a 30 year old. When it comes to the ladies, the least said the better. In that group though I will always exercise the greatest caution on account of the popularity of Botox. I am not saying the meRead More…

What Is The Neutralizing Antibody Response After The 1st Vaccine Shot in Those With Prior Infection?

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Interestingly, two pre-prints were released this week that looked at the same issue. These papers were a comparison of the immune response to the first shot of an mRNA vaccine between those who have had COVID-19 already and have IgG antibodies versus those who have not had the disease yet and thus have no antibodies. These papers answer a very important question; “What happens if I get a shot after having Covid-19 infection?” The Saadat et al, 2021 Study The first one is from the UniversRead More…

Is It True Unarmed Blacks Are More Likely to Be Killed in Police Encounters?

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Over the years the United States has been a country known for racially motivated violence. This issue has moved into the forefront of the political discourse in the past few years. In 2020 George Floyd’s death with videos of Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck on social media sparked protests nation-wide. Many believe these protests along with the poor handling of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to Trump’s loss in 2020. The issue of police violence against minorities especially blacks is howeRead More…

I Am Pregnant; Is It Safe To Get The Covid-19 Vaccine?

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As America continues to roll out vaccines across the country many questions are coming up. With the limited experience with our current vaccines some of these questions do not have easy answers. One such question is; “Is Covid-19 vaccine safe for pregnant women?” Answers to questions like this are usually answered by having trials that focus on answering them. In the area of pregnancy though, this has never been a simple matter. Concerns for adverse fetal outcomes unfortunately makes it diffRead More…

Holding on to The Dream of Martin Luther King Jr.

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On April 4th, 1968, 52 years ago Martin Luther King Jr., was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis TN. The official record has James Earl Ray as the shooter. Ray was a segregationist supporter of George Wallace, an Alabama governor, who was an ardent white supremacist. Asa Carter a Ku Klux Khan leader wrote Wallace’s inaugural speech. The speech read; “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the Read More…

What Are Our Covid-19 Vaccine Pioneers Saying?

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As at January 10th, 2021 the death toll from Covid-19 was about 1.9 million globally and 372,522 in the United States. This is almost as many Americans as died in World War II. In the past week we have hit record numbers of Covid-19 deaths. Total deaths on January 7th was 4.033, more deaths than in any other day since the pandemic hit. Hospitalizations are at an all time high. This is no surprise to anyone who has been keeping track of this pandemic. Even with good vaccine implementation this cRead More…

Long Term Safety of The SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines; How Worried Should You be?

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US Response To Vaccine Implementation As public health authorities in the US roll out the Covid-19 vaccination program many issues beyond immunization logistics are beginning to surface. A recent survey of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) by the National Association of Health Care Assistants had concerning results. In this survey 72% of CNAs surveyed did not want to take the vaccine. One CNA interviewed said she did not want to be a guinea pig! Since the vaccines were approved, I haveRead More…

The Elusive RN From Nashville With Bell’s Palsy From Covid-19 Vaccine

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There is an anti-COVID vaccine video making the rounds on SM. It stars a black lady called Khalilah Mitchell who claims she works as a registered nurse in Nashvillee, TN. According to her heart wrenching account, she got a shot of a COVID vaccine and developed Bell’s Palsy or one-sided facial paralysis 3 days later. She goes on to blame the vaccine for the paralysis and exhorts all not to take it. Though the video has been banned by the big boys, it is still making the rounds on Whatsapp. Read More…