2Articulate / Issue One / Spring 2008
Letter From the Editor
Dear
Articulate
Readers,After much hard work on my part and that of our staff, we are ecstatic to debut
Articulate: UndergraduateScholarship Applied to International Development
. Sponsored by the Michigan State University African Stud-
ies Center and the MSU Office of International Development,
Articulate
is an extension of SCOUT BANANA(Serving Citizens of Uganda Today Because Africa Needs a New Ambulance Now), which aims to educate,motivate, and activate individuals who want to spark change in African healthcare. With a primary focus on the
African continent and health, Articulate hopes to capture and inspire transformation in the field of international
development through the work of promising undergraduate scholars.Though this approach may not seem revolutionary, the staff of
Articulate
firmly believes that individuals who
begin being involved early in Africa and international development are more likely to maintain their interestswithin their college and professional careers. Our journal, then, provides a space to nurture potential scholarsand practitioners on Africa and development and to challenge them to write articles that clarify myths, inventnew policies, and reframe old ideas in innovative ways.In this issue,
Kate Jongbloed
contends through her own research that in addition to improving income for women, microcredit programs foster independence, skill development and hope, which can increase protec-tive behavior of individuals against HIV/AIDS for men and women. Two articles in this issue also highlight thecomplicated entanglement of religion and virus prevention.
Yvette Efevbera
examines how integrating religionand politics has been essential for national responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemics in Uganda and Senegal, while
Justin Lockwood
writes on how Muslim leaders in the Kano State of Nigeria have become a barrier to poliovaccinations across the region. In efforts to provoke new conceptualizations,
Heidi Kershner
argues that rather than relying on current international law, the crime of biopiracy in the African context requires a non-Westernethics of care to achieve more comprehensive justice. In similar attempts of evaluating policies,
Laura Wolaver
identifies successful elements of national eradication programs in Uganda and Ghana, and she illustrates that
contrary to popular belief, eradication efforts do not require the most expensive or intensive methods to be mosteffective.As founding editor-in-chief, I have strived to connect my own understandings of international development tothe writing development process; if the vision of SCOUT BANANA infuses development with empowerment,
Articulate
must also equip and empower its readers and writers to participate in the debates on internationalhealthcare, policy, and aid. I hope this issue is successful in its mission, and our staff looks forward to hearingfrom you.Sincerely,Monica Mukerjee,
Editor-in-Chief
Michigan State UniversityApril 2008
Leave a Comment