Nigeria is a country close to my heart. I’m glad you spotlighted both the country and how life expectancy reflects the strength of health systems, policy decisions, and community well-being.
This connects closely to a conversation we are having in an upcoming Global Development Interrupted episode with Ramona Godbole, releasing February 12th. She discusses USAID’s Global Health Policy released just before the shutdown, which focused on increasing global life expectancy as a measure of success. We will also share the policy for those interested in exploring it further.
Looking forward to hearing that conversation with Ramona! That was an excellent policy, with so much latent potential that we never got to see expressed ❤️
Great piece this week, Apoorva! Adichie is also my favorite author - Half of a Yellow Sun is my favorite of hers. I had no idea about the loss of her son.
I loved this episode. (And now Burna Boy is on my playlist.) I didn’t see an emphasis on Nigeria’s TFR - declining but still on the high side. And (with apologies to the anti-population side), all of the points you made are exacerbated by Nigeria’s status as by far the largest population on the African Continent. Which makes some of those health statistics, like malaria prevalence, translate into huge numbers of children and mothers dying.
Nigerian cuisine. Oh my. To this day, the worst meal I’ve ever had was in Ilorin. Giant Snail. As big as a frisbee. Undulating. Musky. I was a gracious guest and did not gag. But that one was rough. Goat? Much better! 😍
You are so right, of course. I struggle with balance in these pieces; throwing too much data at the readers that I muddle the core ideas vs too little that the analysis is superficial. I see your point here about how those statistics would have bolstered these arguments, thank you! More to chew on like the goat we had and the snail you almost didn't have :)
Nigeria is a country close to my heart. I’m glad you spotlighted both the country and how life expectancy reflects the strength of health systems, policy decisions, and community well-being.
This connects closely to a conversation we are having in an upcoming Global Development Interrupted episode with Ramona Godbole, releasing February 12th. She discusses USAID’s Global Health Policy released just before the shutdown, which focused on increasing global life expectancy as a measure of success. We will also share the policy for those interested in exploring it further.
Looking forward to hearing that conversation with Ramona! That was an excellent policy, with so much latent potential that we never got to see expressed ❤️
Great piece this week, Apoorva! Adichie is also my favorite author - Half of a Yellow Sun is my favorite of hers. I had no idea about the loss of her son.
I also love Yewande Komolafe’s recipes - this is one of my favorites: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022862-brothy-thai-curry-with-silken-tofu-and-herbs
Mira, I feel like our shared interests are so many to count - please let me know if you are ever in the Seattle area, would love to chat :)
I loved this episode. (And now Burna Boy is on my playlist.) I didn’t see an emphasis on Nigeria’s TFR - declining but still on the high side. And (with apologies to the anti-population side), all of the points you made are exacerbated by Nigeria’s status as by far the largest population on the African Continent. Which makes some of those health statistics, like malaria prevalence, translate into huge numbers of children and mothers dying.
Nigerian cuisine. Oh my. To this day, the worst meal I’ve ever had was in Ilorin. Giant Snail. As big as a frisbee. Undulating. Musky. I was a gracious guest and did not gag. But that one was rough. Goat? Much better! 😍
You are so right, of course. I struggle with balance in these pieces; throwing too much data at the readers that I muddle the core ideas vs too little that the analysis is superficial. I see your point here about how those statistics would have bolstered these arguments, thank you! More to chew on like the goat we had and the snail you almost didn't have :)
Absorbing read!