The World Cup 2010 is upon us! exclaimed one of my friends on the continent. It will be the first time that Africa hosts the popular tournament. The level of excitement is unparalleled by any event ever held on the continent. However questions still linger in the minds of many people as to the preparedness of South Africa the host country. We feel a collective responsibility in portraying a positive image about Africa. South Africa successfully hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and the Cricket World Cup in 2003. Both events were well organised and there is hope that things are bound to go as well. However we can't ignore multiple strikes by stadium workers and other hitches that have brought to question the preparedness of South Africa. This will also be a much bigger event compared to the Rugby World Cup.

On this week's Upfront we talked about the need for increased regional integration,cross-border trade and transportation networks in Africa. Even though this would require the mobilisation of vast resources, both within and outside the region, the investment in the right infrastructure and policies is a necessary step to development. Many African countries have already started opening up borders and encouraging their people to explore opportunities and markets within their economic trade blocs. In East Africa, the recently revived East African Community has welcomed new members like Rwanda and Burundi. However,despite the good intentions, there are still political hitches like poor policies to promote trade and infrastructural bottlenecks like poor road networks etc. Africa's enormous potential and vast resources have not been effectively exploited. There is a need to develop more strategic partnerships among countries,regional blocs, mobilize technical and financial support from international aid and development agencies like the World Bank, African Development Bank etc.

In Southern Africa alone, data shows that with more than 186 million people and a combined GNP of US$178 billion. The potential to develop a consumer base for regional goods is limitless. The combined imports of the SADC region excluding South Africa amount to an estimated US$20 billion. Imagine if half of these imports were from other African countries. A local demand fulfilled by a local supply,that is the paradigm we need to be moving towards creating.
On the show i spoke to Julius Rotich the Deputy secretary general of the East African community, his organization is working on creating a network where goods and services can move smoothly within the community. However this will not be easy given the financial challenges that they face. Most importantly it will be imperative to address the issue of archaic policies that hinder the movement of goods from one country to another.
Bob Gatera,the general manager of Balton told me that he was encouraged by the new policy that allow borders to remain open for 24 hours. It has cut down on the amount of time goods took to move from Mombasa to Kigali. There is an issue of corruption that still needs to be addressed. This won't be easy given the different attitudes and response mechanisms in various countries.

Depression is a complex issue that can physically manifest itself in many ways. It is like some say an equal opportunity attacker i.e regardless of social class,gender,education etc. In Africa like in many parts of the world,the challenges of dealing with depression start with being able to diagnose it. Given the poor state of our health facilities, it is possible that many cases of depression go undetected. Another interesting dynamic regarding depression as a medical condition is that in Africa,we tend to view in a mystical sense.Epidemiologically the notion widely held that depression doesn't occur in Africa has now been dispelled by many studies on the topic. Still,there is a tendency to look at depressed people as 'possessed' by the spirits,cursed or that they are just channeling an angry ancestor. Our response has therefore been limited by this view that we have no power to treat depressed people; because some high power is responsible for the condition.

Depression is indeed a serious medical condition with a variety of symptoms. Emotional symptoms can include sadness, loss of interest in things you once enjoyed, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, restlessness, and trouble concentrating or making decisions. Physical symptoms can include fatigue, lack of energy, and changes in weight or sleep patterns. Additional symptoms of depression may include vague aches and pains, irritability, anxiety, and thoughts of death or suicide.

Science advances many theories about the cause of depression. One common theory is that depression is caused by an imbalance of naturally occurring substances in the brain and spinal cord.But it can also be caused by someone's social conditions, relationship problems etc. Because of the type of stigma in many African communities, thousands suffer in silence with depression.They fear that by admitting their condition,they will be victims of the different social stereotypes related to the myth of depression. The shame and fear to seek help makes their problem more severe and harder to deal with.
On the show we spoke to many young people who have experienced some form of depression. The causes ranged from pressures of school,social lives,finances etc. Many agreed that it is not easy for them to express how they are feeling to their friends or parents.

There needs to be a shift in African's attitudes towards issue of depression. This needs to start from our homes to medical professionals where an awareness and capacity can be encouraged through government efforts to talk about the issue. Stigma and stereotypes will continue to hinder and true efforts at evaluating and managing individuals with mental illness.

Here is information on depression.

This week on Upfront we discussed Africa's need to develop and harness its own technologies. Most of the technologies and innovations that we consume are imported from the west. So what happened to Africa's power to innovate?

Our societies survived for thousands of years using local home grown technologies to hunt,farm and for other purposes that sustained them. However it seems as though we stopped innovating at some point in the last century.Our communities now depend on technology that was created by western innovators. From the most important technological invention of our generation--the computer,which has been called this century's printing press. The computer has irrevocably changed the course of history in virtually every field--business, politics, education, religion and so on. The Electronic Digital Computer was invented in 1942 by Iowa State physicist John V. Atanasoff after "an evening of scotch and 100 mph rides." His back-of-napkin design resulted in a hulking 700-pound, desk-sized contraption.
The computer revolution led to the superhighway of information-with the birth of the World Wide Web.The world was granted digital visas to travel through cyberspace. This and numerous inventions from the western world have dwarfed African's abilities to innovate. So what happened? How is it that we have not invented a technology that is universally consumed?


Most contributors to the show acknowledged that governments in Africa do little in promoting and encouraging local technologies by supporting our inventors and innovators.Research institutions that once functioned as the hub of local innovators have seriously been degraded. Much of Africa's exports come from Agricultural produce,yet there is little to show in terms of technological advancement in a sector that employs over half of the population.
I recently met William Kamkwamba from Malawi. He is a young uneducated boy who at the age of just 14, he had built his own wind generator.It begs the question,is this the generation that will spur African innovation? How do we get governments to commit to promoting local technologies?