“It is only the ignorant who despise education.”
Publius Cyrus, Latin Poet, 43-85 AD
Recently, my spouse and I celebrated a milestone birthday and anniversary by traveling on safari in East Africa. Besides the abundant and fascinating wildlife, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing with our guides and drivers the current demographic, cultural, and educational aspects of their respective countries, Kenya and Tanzania. These conversations, taken with a fair amount of background reading, led to the comments in this editorial. Our African colleagues were convinced that a key element required to improve the quality of life for the average person in their societies must involve widespread, universal education. Without this, critical measures in public health, food production, and good governmental practices would not be accomplished.
As I thought about their comments, it became clear to me that they were right. The future economic and physical health of the citizenry in Africa demands widespread education of the population. Ignorance in this magnificent continent has led to much unnecessary pain, misery, and death already.
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— Joseph S. Alpert, MD, AJM editor-in-chief
This article originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
