Sewasew global an Ethiopian music streaming platform which aims to bring fans closer to artists through unique experiences and the highest sound quality build by 2f capital gets into the streaming market.
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
The operation kick started as of Sunday October 9, 2022 following an official ceremony held at SheratonAddis hotel with the presence of government officials and artists.
The platform will connect both artists and audiences and will bring together stakeholders in the music industry including musicians, composers, poet and producers who will get the right payment for their work. So far more than 60 artists have signed to work with Sewasew.
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
The platform is said to minimize audiences’ hassle in getting Ethiopian music since it will provide unlimited access to good Ethiopian music, anywhere, anytime.
Furthermore, it will help Ethiopian music to be competitive in the art world by promoting Ethiopian music to the rest of the world.
“Audiences have several options to explore the Ethiopian music industry now. Join our platform and listen to new and featured Amharic songs. We are available offline, through the Sewasew’s offline feature which provides an offline access to the Ethiopian songs on your playlist when you are in your office, outdoors, or on the go, we got you covered,” read the marketing sketch of the streaming platform.
On the 1st of October, 2022, Ethiopia inaugurated the first stroke treatment center courtesy of the Axon Stroke and Spine Center (ASSC). The center which is noted to be a healthcare game-changer for East Africa was born out of the vision and strong commitment of Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel Tekle whose passion was to bring back advanced stroke care to Ethiopia. His vision has now become a reality through ASSC – a partnership between Ethiostrokecare PLLC (American-based company founded by Dr. Wondwossen for the purpose of supporting stroke care in Ethiopia) and Samaritan Surgical Center (state-of-the-art and experienced surgical specialty center in Addis Ababa). In Ethiopia, stroke incidences being the number one killer of Ethiopians between the age of 50–69 years, and the number one cause of long-term disability worldwide; Capital’s Metasebia Teshome reached out to the centers founding neurologists and president of the Ethiopia Stroke Initiative, Dr. Wondwossen, for insights on neurological care;
Capital: Tell us about yourself?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: I am an alumnus of the Addis Ababa University School of medicine having graduated there about 22 years back. Following my undergraduate degree, I headed abroad to the US and specialized in neurology from the George Washington University. Whilst, I was there, I did two different subspecialties, that is, on stroke neuron critical care and neuron interventional surgery. To also widen my horizons in the field, I also did my clinical research at Harvard University. Over the course of the last decade, I have been working as a senior consultant at south Texas. In addition to giving medical treatment and services, I have also been conducting researches on issues related to strokes.
Capital: There has always been a low awareness on the concept of strokes. Can you give us some insights on the same?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: A stroke is a sudden loss of brain function caused by an interruption in the supply of blood to the brain. From the reported cases, 85 percent of stroke diseases across the world occur due to blockage in the brain’s blood supply while the other 15 percent occur when a blood vessel ruptures.
A ruptured blood vessel or cerebral thrombosis may cause the stroke, which can occur in varying degrees of severity from temporary paralysis and slurred speech to permanent brain damage and death.
Capital: What led you to name your practice ‘Axon’? Give us a brief explanation of the services you provide?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: The center’s name is derived from a part of the human nerve called Axon.
With regards to services that we render, the Axon Stroke and Spine Center provides treatments for every kind of neurological, cerebrovascular diseases and spinal diseases and other related ailments related to the nerve. Axon was established by a partnership between Ethiostrokecare PLLC, which I and my colleagues founded in the US alongside the Samaritan Surgical Center, here in Addis.
Our center was inaugurated on the first of October, 2022 becoming Ethiopia’s first comprehensive stroke center that incorporates state-of-the-art and most advanced artificial intelligence which enables biplane Cath lab suite which is the first in sub-Saharan Africa.
The center also offers the best services through its neurosurgical theatres, neurologic intensive care unit, new rehabilitation center, new stroke/neuro/trauma emergency department, CT scanner, and much more. Axon Stroke and Spine Center is located at Samaritan surgical center which is connected to the American Medical Center.
Capital: Strokes are almost becoming the new epidemic in our country as is the trend in most third world countries which now collectively carry two thirds of the global stroke burden and similarly death rates are also increasing, why do you think that is?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: This is mainly due to the absence of effective preventive services, and total absence of acute treatment to reverse the initial damage from strokes and post-acute neuro-rehabilitation to decrease long-term disability.
A significant number of the admitted stroke patients have poor treatment outcomes in which the case-fatality rates are relatively high. Substance abuse and having not received medication for stroke are the significant predictors for poor treatment outcome. That is why we have opened our stroke center, to create more convenience and exceptionally seamless flow of services for patients at the three institutions.
Capital: What makes your service special form other stroke centers in the city?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: We have tried to bring all the latest medical equipment to our country, coupled with extensive experience on the ailments of strokes, diabetes and obesity which stem from our years of work in the US.
We are also currently providing acute medical treatment with intravenous thrombolysis as well as neurointerventional mechanical thrombectomy in the biplane Cath lab suite. We will be performing minimally invasive brain surgeries by accessing and opening clogged brain arteries with catheters and other devices which are first advanced through the arm or leg and then navigated inside to the brain without having to open the skull.
The center also boasts of a neurological ICU which is equipped with advanced cerebral and hemodynamic monitors, latest diagnostic software and CT scanner, portable wireless ultrasound, X-ray, a centralized oxygen supply system, etc, which are well suited for acutely ill neurologic patients. Besides strokes, the center has numerous neurological procedures including radiofrequency ablation for spinal pain and other pain disorders, using one of the most advanced radiofrequency generator machines as the first machine in Ethiopia.
Capital: What kind of benefits does the center have on the economy?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: Usually stroke patients in our country travel abroad to get treatment, one of the main reasons for this is because there is a lack of stroke treatment institutions in our country. Axon will now fill this gap not only in our country but also across the region as a result being a health tourism destination from neighboring countries in the process. This will help to minimize the overall forex that goes abroad for treatment and will lead to increase in forex flows as it will attract patients from neighboring countries.
Capital: Does your center offer trainings besides providing treatments to patients?
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: Yes. We are only two Ethiopians who are highly specialized in neurology and my team and I want the clinical team involved in the care of stroke patients to be highly equipped so as to save lots of lives.
To this end, as a teaching facility, Axon Stroke and Spine Center is collaborating with Addis Ababa University College of health sciences in training neurosurgeons and neurologists to become sub-specialists in stroke and neurointerventional surgery. The center will also provide telemedicine-based services where physicians will see patients without physically being present at the center.
Capital: What should be done to prevent strokes?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: A stroke interrupts blood flow to an area of the brain. Strokes can be fatal, but the risk can be reduced. More than 80% of strokes can be prevented. You can take action to lower your risk of stroke. The F.A.S.T test is an easy way to remember the most common signs of stroke.
Face: Check their face. Has their mouth drooped? Arms: Can they lift both arms? Speech: Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? Time is critical. If you see any of these signs you have to go to a health institution straight away.
There can be other signs too: Your face, arm or leg can be numb, clumsy, weak, or paralyzed. This can be on one or both sides of your body feeling dizzy, losing balance, or falling over for no reason. Similarly, losing your vision might be signs too and this can be in one or both eyes.
In order to prevent stokes, one should aim to be active for 30 minutes most days. You need to increase your heart rate, feel a little warm and get a bit out of breath. You also need to do activities that build muscle strength. The key to eating well is to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods from each of the five food groups. Moreover, there should be a need for better awareness of the risk factors associated with high blood pressure, especially in regions with a high burden of stroke, including Ethiopia. Efforts should be focused on the primary prevention of non-communicable disease and stroke in my opinion.
Capital: What are the factors that are increasing the number of patients in Ethiopia?
Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel: Urbanization and changes in lifestyle in the developing world will remain atop in raising the burden of stokes. Many stroke risk factors are lifestyle related, so everyone has the power to reduce their risk of having a stroke.
Not doing enough physical activity is the second biggest risk factor to strokes. It can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. It can also lead to being overweight. These things increase your risk of having a stroke.
Eating unhealthy foods can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol. It can also lead to being overweight. These things increase your risk of stroke.
Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. These things can increase your risk of stroke.
Digitisation increases the return on capital and thus further increases the already large gap between the few who are owners of digital machines and platforms and the many others who are getting relatively less and less for their work. This is why a new way of overcoming the old division between capital and labor is needed, at least to secure one’s old age. Several Economists are proposing a completely new concept that resolves a longstanding economic riddle by making every single person a shareholder of the new digital machines and algorithms. They call the concept “DigiPension”.
In today’s world, robots and algorithms take over more and more of people’s work. That has also been the case since the Industrial Revolution, again and again. But while machines have taken over activities, sooner or later the people affected have found other meaningful tasks.
Paul Spahn, Professor Emeritus of Goethe University in Germany stated that in that process, to date they became even wealthier than before. That’s no surprise, because what better thing can happen than machines doing the work and people benefiting from the goods and services produced? And since such processes have usually gone well for society, we have become slightly negligent toward further automation through digitization.
According to Paul Spahn, transformation processes of this kind only went well as long as machines could not work alone. They were productive only if operated, controlled and further developed by people. It also didn’t hurt that, contrary to the early naysayers, manufacturing plants could be multiplied at will. That process ultimately benefited the working people for a simple reason: The more machines there were, the more they needed people to operate them.
Christian Rieck, Professor for Finance at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences argued that for this reason, Marx was wrong. It was not the case, as his script had predicted, that the capital owners were gathering more and more wealth, while the working population continued to become impoverished. On the contrary, after a transitional phase, the operation of these machines required well-trained people, so that a wealthy middle class could emerge for the first time in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.
Christian Rieck noted that the digital future of the economy will drastically change this benevolent scenario. While machines used to replace muscle power and manual work, today they are increasingly replacing mental activities. While the strategy of shifting towards brain work, ambitious as it is, will only pay off to a limited extent, at some point at least simpler services will be replicated using algorithms as “artificial intelligence.” And thus the people holding these jobs will become replaceable. This must have a negative impact on participation in economic growth, wealth distribution and social stability.
Dr. Chris Kutarna, a Fellow of the University of Oxford stated that from the point of view of distribution, all this is critical as long as people see themselves split into the two groups mentioned: Capital owners and people who make a living from their work. Economists usually agree that this gap can only be bridged by employee participation in productive capital. One promising way to do this is by saving in shares.
According to Dr. Chris Kutarna, achieving this participation with traditional methods such as tax incentives or investment wage models have long been tried but have not been very successful because they are based on income. This approach also has the big disadvantage that it effectively excludes welfare recipients, people that would be particularly dependent on wealth accumulation.
Unfortunately, saving by investing in stocks still seems to too many today as if it were purely a matter for the rich. But what is insufficiently understood at this critical juncture is that in this arena digitization offers completely new opportunities. It allows the acquisition of personalized shares in productive capital, even for smallest amounts, without significant collection costs. Older incentive models to invest modest amount of income in stocks for pensions still had to fail simply because of the high transaction costs during the analogue era.
Dieter Thoms, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Gallen said that today, however, such transactions are no longer handled by people, but processed digitally, so that the costs for the transactions are almost zero. This applies even to the smallest amounts, which in principle creates the room to make any person a mini-capitalist, no matter how poor or rich they are. According to Dieter Thoms, the only condition is that saving accrues over time steadily and consistently
The ruling ideology of the world order is anchored on the powerful human vice of unadulterated greed. Almost everything we do in our world system, collectively or otherwise, is based on this principle, even though it is not explicitly stated as such by the global status quo. The economic aspect of the system upholds exploitation and competition as the alpha and omega of collective existence. Its political governance, which espouses certain aspect of democracy, mostly representative/electoral democracy, is dictated by the ‘rule of money’, to a very large extent. Such a regime of plutocracy is pronounced in the core countries of the west, particularly in the United States of America. After WWII, the US became the reigning hegemon and managed to dictate global policies, economic and more, without effective impediments, despite the socialisms of the day. The globalization thus promoted, willy-nilly, ruled the planet, up until now!
As always, we are quick to qualify the existing globalization as a polarizing one. If it weren’t so polarizing, there wouldn’t be myriad challenges against it, given its very short existence (post WWII). One of the hallmarks of the current polarizing globalization is its violent expropriation, both from nature as well as from the weak peripheral societies. This has been done, to a large extent, by a cleverness of stealth dimension! By leveraging the on-going destructive ideology of commodification, which has given rise to excessive monetization, the system managed to hoodwink all and sundry, including its latest victim-Maoism! The current globalization utilizes various tools to promote its objectives. To this end, its core ideology of greed has been elevated to a sacrosanct religion of global prominence, with money as its supreme deity! Such a totalitarian doctrine stifled inquiries all over the modern world, even in those countries that were once regarded as relatively liberated/enlightened (Nordic, etc.). Generally speaking, the system as a whole has lost its propensity to engage in critical reflections. This attitude is no more confined in the realm of social thoughts, but has also encroached into the world of natural philosophy or what is now called the hard sciences!
The institutions that actively promote the polarizing globalization of our times are quite numerous. Suffice is to mention only the significantly influential ones. From the indoctrination mills of the global universities to institutions of global economic governance, (IMF, WB, WTO, etc.) from the machineries of global political governance/dominance, (UN, NATO, etc.) to the integrated media, consisting of the entertainment industries, including spectator sports, (which must fall under the category of entertainment, per force, rather than a vocation promoting healthy living) are the main tools of the prevailing unsustainable globalization. The ever-canny global status quo has thoroughly mobilized, almost all of the world’s sheeple, (human mass) into worshipping its religion. Anything that is construed as lying outside the kingdom of greed is shot down viciously. However, there have now emerged issues that are not lending themselves for the usual facile narrations. What is proving difficult to hide for the ever-manipulative status quo is the natural phenomenon that resulted from man’s obsessive interference in the workings of nature. Climate change, species destruction, acidification of the oceans, diminishing of resources, inadequate sink for all our pollution, etc., are gradually entering the consciousness of the sheeple, wherein hope resides!
Despite the overwhelming power (military, finance, media, etc.) of the establishment, there are still brave souls across the planet willing to expose the system’s comprehensive objective. Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden are amongst the vanguards. Unfortunately, the wretched in Africa still lack determined souls willing to ‘rock the boat’, so to speak. After half a century of flag independence, we Africans are still wallowing in the sickening world of ‘black skin white masks’, as if we are still in those days of colonial affliction (psychopathology of colonization), as thoroughly explained by the Martinique psychiatrist Frantz Fanon! Luckily and at the global, an increasing number of people along with activist-intellectuals are moving towards liberation of thoughts and sustainable of deeds. At the same time, the establishment continues to become visibly moronic!
