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Research paper
Provider love in an informal settlement: Men’s relationships with providing women and implications for HIV in Kampala, Uganda
This study reports on data from an ethnography (2016–2019) with low-income men in urban Uganda. This study uses gender and power theory to describe how men’s relationships with female sex workers in an informal settlement in urban Kampala, Uganda are…
Research paper
Deadly Flies, Poor Profits, and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals: Sustaining the Control of Sleeping Sickness in Uganda
Efforts to control neglected tropical diseases have increasingly focused on questions of implementation. But how should we conceptualize the implementation process? Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork between 2010 and 2012, in this article I explore efforts by a small-scale public–private partnership…
Research paper
The Priest’s Soldiers: HIV Therapies, Health Identities, and Forced Encampment in Northern Uganda
In this article, I analyze how antiretroviral therapy and associated HIV support programs engendered HIV-based health identities in displacement camps in conflict-affected northern Uganda. Drawing on multisited ethnographic fieldwork I conducted between 2006 and 2009, I argue that these health…
Research paper
“Not Taking it Will Just be Like a Sin”: Young People Living with HIV and the Stigmatization of Less-Than-Perfect Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy
Global health priorities are being set to address questions on adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy in adolescence. Few studies have explored young people’s perspectives on the complex host of social and relational challenges they face in dealing with their treatment…
Research paper
Dynamics of Care, Situations of Choice: HIV Tests in Times of ART
In the 1990s, African AIDS programs followed a voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) approach to HIV testing. In the wake of large scale AIDS treatment programs, policymakers opted for routine provider-initiated testing (PITC) with less emphasis on counseling, which led…
Research paper
Routines, Hope, and Antiretroviral Treatment among Men and Women in Uganda
Antiretroviral treatment programs, despite biomedical emphases, require social understanding and transformations to be successful. In this article, the authors draw from a qualitative study of HIV treatment seeking to examine the drug-taking routines and health-related subjectivities of men and women…
Research paper
Challenging the Paradigm: Anthropological Perspectives on HIV as a Chronic Disease
Recently HIV has been framed as a ‘manageable’ chronic disease in contexts in which access to effective care is reliable. The chronic disease paradigm emphasizes self-care, biomedical disease management, social normalization, and uncertainty. Data from a longitudinal study of patients…
Research paper
Barriers of HIV treatment-seeking behavior among youths living with HIV in Uganda: a qualitative study
This study aimed to explore experienced barriers to seek human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment and care among youth living with HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Uganda. The study demonstrated that barriers to using HIV care included fear of…
Research paper
A qualitative study of the development and utilization of health facility-based immunization microplans in Uganda
In 2006, Uganda adopted the Reaching Every District strategy with the goal of attaining at least 80% coverage for routine immunizations in every district. The development and utilization of health facility/district immunization microplans is the key to the strategy. A…
Research paper
“If he could speak, he would be able to point out who does those things to him”: Experiences of violence and access to child protection among children with disabilities in Uganda and Malawi
While child protection mechanisms to prevent and respond to violence are slowly operationalised in low- and- middle-income countries, little is known about whether existing mechanisms are disability-inclusive. The aim of this study, which took place in Malawi and Kamuli district…
Research paper
“Eat and you will be eaten”: a qualitative study exploring costs and benefits of age-disparate sexual relationships in Tanzania and Uganda: implications for girls’ sexual and reproductive health interventions
Age-disparate sex is associated with increased HIV risk among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little has been done to understand the dynamics of such relationships from the perspectives of either AGYW or older men, and…
Research paper
Examining diffusion to understand the how of SASA!, a violence against women and HIV prevention intervention in Uganda
A growing number of complex public health interventions combine mass media with community-based “change agents” and/or mobilisation efforts acting at multiple levels. While impact evaluations are important, there is a paucity of research into the more nuanced roles intervention and…
Research paper
Sexual health of adolescent girls and young women in Central Uganda: exploring perceived coercive aspects of transactional sex
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Uganda are at risk of early sexual debut, unwanted pregnancy, violence, and disproportionally high HIV infection rates, driven in part by transactional sex. This paper examines the extent to which AGYW’s participation in…
Research paper
Community perspectives on the extent to which transactional sex is viewed as sexual exploitation in Central Uganda
Sexual exploitation violates children’s rights and exposes them to harm, but there exist differences in views of behaviour that is considered sexually exploitative, including transactional sex. This paper explores community perspectives on transactional sex and exploitation in two communities in…
Research paper
“We saw that jealousy can also bring violence”: A qualitative exploration of the intersections between jealousy, infidelity and intimate partner violence in Rwanda and Uganda
Efforts to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) have been informed by emerging research on common triggers of IPV and the importance of engaging with couple dynamics. This paper reports on secondary data analysis from the qualitative evaluations of the SASA!…
Research paper
A qualitative study exploring parent–daughter approaches for communicating about sex and transactional sex in Central Uganda: Implications for comprehensive sexuality education interventions
Ugandan adolescent girls and young women are disproportionately impacted by human immunodeficiency virus, and this is largely driven by their engagement in transactional sex. Globally, parent–daughter communication about sex is associated with increased contraceptive use and delayed/decreased sexual activity, but…
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics and Healthcare in West Nile, Uganda
Against the backdrop of on-going preparedness work in Uganda as related to the outbreak of Ebola in DRC, this brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics and health structures and behaviours in the West Nile sub-region of north-west Uganda. It…
Research paper
Family planning knowledge and use among women in camps for internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
This study describes family planning awareness and needs among internally displaced women residing in the Mugunga camps in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A cross-sectional survey of women from the Mugunga camps in March 2014 revealed that…
Research paper
“There are many fevers”: Communities’ perception and management of Febrile illness and its relationship with human animal interactions in South-Western Uganda
Diagnosing the causative agent of febrile illness in resource-limited countries is a challenge in part due to lack of adequate diagnostic infrastructure to confirm cause of infection. Most febrile illnesses (>60%) are non-malarial, with a significant proportion being zoonotic and…
Research paper
Behind the scenes: International NGOs’ influence on reproductive health policy in Malawi and South Sudan
Global health donors increasingly embrace international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) as partners, often relying on them to conduct political advocacy in recipient countries, especially in controversial policy domains like reproductive health. Although INGOs are the primary recipients of donor funding, they…
Research paper
Men’s perceptions of women’s reproductive health in South Sudan
This paper draws on a qualitative study (n = 52) and applies a political ecology of health framework to examine men’s perceptions of women’s reproductive health in South Sudan. The findings suggest that political practices of place making configure men’s views of…
Research paper
Health services for women, children and adolescents in conflict affected settings: experience from North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
The humanitarian response to the DRC’s Ebola health emergency between 2018-20 was met with popular resistance by local populations, drawing attention to the perceived failures of humanitarian responses in the country over decades. To declare Ebola a health disaster was…
Research paper
Stigmatisation and rejection of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Studies report that between 6 per cent and 29 per cent of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are rejected by their families and communities. This research project was designed to provide insights into…
Research paper
Challenges of controlling sleeping sickness in areas of violent conflict: experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is a fatal neglected tropical disease if left untreated. HAT primarily affects people living in rural sub-Saharan Africa, often in regions afflicted by violent conflict. Screening and treatment of HAT is complex and…
Research paper
Maternal Psychological Distress and Perceived Impact on Child Feeding Practices in South Kivu, DR Congo
Maternal mental health problems are associated with poor child growth and suboptimal child feeding practices, yet little qualitative research has been conducted to understand mothers’ perceptions about how maternal mental ill health and child nutrition are related. This study among…
Research paper
Clinical trials as disease control? The political economy of sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1996–2016)
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, is closer than ever to being eliminated as a public health problem. The main narratives for the impressive drop in cases allude to drugs discovery and global financing and coordination. They raise questions…
Research paper
Resources and Rape: Congo’s (toxic) Discursive Complex
In the last decade, the rapes (of women) in, and the metaphoric raping (of natural resources) of, the Democratic Republic of Congo have received unprecedented attention from media, donors, and advocacy groups. Beginning in the early 2000s, these two narratives…
Research paper
‘A Real Woman Waits’ – Heteronormative Respectability, Neo-Liberal Betterment and Echoes of Coloniality in SGBV Programming in Eastern DR Congo
Drawing on archival and field research, this article critically examines the production and distribution of gender roles and expectations in SGBV programming, in particular in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We find the underlying currents in some of these…
Research paper
Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage
Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic…
Research paper
Sexual and gender based violence against men in the Democratic Republic of Congo: effects on survivors, their families and the community
Media and service provider reports of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) perpetrated against men in armed conflicts have increased. However, response to these reports has been limited, as existing evidence and programs have primarily focused on prevention and response…
Research paper
A man never cries: barriers to holistic care for male survivors of sexual violence in eastern DRC
While we know that most male survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) do not have access to care, little attention has been devoted to a systematic analysis of why this is so. Drawing…
Thesis
A Gender Analysis of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health System Reform: An Opportune Moment to Build a Just and Inclusive Health System
This thesis examines key institutional and structural interventions and reforms in the health system of the DRC for their implications on health experienced by Congolese women from conception to beyond their reproductive years. This thesis suggests that healthcare reform efforts…
Research paper
Gender relations and women’s reproductive health in South Sudan
Drawing on Connell’s relational theory of gender, the authors of this study conducted focus group discussion and interviews with Fertit women in South Sudan concerning their ability to control their reproductive lives. Women reported little choice over the childbearing demands…
Research paper
Health Sector Recovery in Early Post-Conflict Environments: Experience from Southern Sudan
Health sector recovery in post-conflict settings presents an opportunity for reform: analysis of policy processes can provide useful lessons. The case of southern Sudan is assessed through interviews, literature review, and by drawing on experiences of former technical advisers to…
Research paper
Low Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Fisherfolk Living Along the River Nile in North-Western Uganda: a Biosocial Investigation
This article asks: why is the prevalence of S. mansoni so low among fisherfolk in northern Uganda? Taking a biosocial approach, it suggests that the mass distribution of drugs, free of charge, has had an impact. However, the low prevalence…
Research paper
Understanding Perceptions on ‘Buruli’ in Northwestern Uganda: A Biosocial Investigation
This article explores perspectives on Buruli among fisherfolk in northwestern Uganda along the River Nile, where the ulcer has previously been documented. The findings are based on a long-term ethnographic study of health, healing and illness in this region, and…
