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Research paper
The ‘Other Diseases’ of the Millennium Development Goals: Rhetoric and Reality of Free Drug Distribution to Cure the Poor’s Parasites
A massive programme is now underway to treat the parasites of the poor in Africa via integrated vertical interventions of mass drug administration in endemic areas. The approach has been hailed as remarkably effective, with claims that there is now…
Research paper
De-Politicizing Parasites: Reflections on Attempts to Control the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases
Large amounts of funding are being allocated to the control of neglected tropical diseases. Strategies primarily rely on the mass distribution of drugs to adults and children living in endemic areas. The approach is presented as morally appropriate, technically effective,…
Research paper
Border Parasites: Schistosomiasis Control among Uganda’s Fisherfolk
It is recognized that the control of schistosomisais in Uganda requires a focus on fisherfolk. Large numbers suffer from this water-borne parasitic disease; notably along the shores of lakes Albert and Victoria and along the River Nile. Since 2004, a…
Research paper
Resisting Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases: Dilemmas in the Mass Treatment of Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths in North-West Uganda
A strong case has recently been made by academics and policymakers to develop national programmes for the integrated control of Africa’s ‘neglected tropical diseases’. Uganda was the first country to develop a programme for the integrated control of two of…
Does Mass Drug Administration for the Integrated Treatment of Neglected Tropical Diseases really work? Assessing Evidence for the Control of Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Uganda
Less is known about mass drug administration [MDA] for neglected tropical diseases [NTDs] than is suggested by those so vigorously promoting expansion of the approach. This paper fills an important gap: it draws upon local level research to examine the…
Research paper
The Violence of Healing
This essay discusses violence and healing in response to war, drawing attention to the idea that violence and healing are often closely interconnected, and what may be judged to be violent acts can be expected to play a crucial role…
Research paper
Justice at the Margins: Witches, Poisoners, and Social Accountability in Northern Uganda
Recent responses to people alleged to be ‘witches’ or ‘poisoners’ among the Madi of northern Uganda are compared with those of the 1980s. From 2006, a democratic system for dealing with suspects was introduced, whereby those receiving the highest number…
Research paper
Quests for Therapy in Northern Uganda: Healing at Laropi Revisited
This article presents a case of diachronic ethnography. It examines quests for therapy among the Madi people of northern Uganda. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in and around the small trading centre of Laropi; originally in the…
Research paper
Deworming Delusions? Mass Drug Administration in East African Schools
Recent debates about deworming school-aged children in East Africa have been described as the ‘Worm Wars’. The stakes are high. Deworming has become one of the top priorities in the fight against infectious diseases. Staff at the World Health Organization,…
Research paper
Therapy in Uganda: a failed MHPSS approach in the face of structural issues
The past 30 years have seen an unprecedented rise in attention towards the mental health of conflict-affected populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the burden of mental disorder among conflict-affected individuals may be as high as 22% and…
Research paper
Using feminist ‘reflexive practice’ to explore stress and well-being of local researchers in South Sudan
This article shares key findings and offer personal reflections on and suggestions for improving gender-based violence research using feminist methods. The authors reflect that while they themselves valued the sharing of personal reflections on emotional challenges that the research team…
Research paper
Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research: Reflections on the Research Approach Used to Understand the Complexity of Maternal Health Issues in South Sudan
How can contextualised data be collected in a short time in conflict-affected sites? This paper shows how a Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research (PEER) approach can overcome many of the challenges of conducting research in such conditions. Here, the authors…
Research paper
Mental health in South Sudan: a case for community-based support
Based on personal reflections of the authors who were engaged in mental health and psychosocial support programmes in South Sudan between 2013 and 2016, this article illustrates the constraints and challenges facing the sector at the time. The authors emphasise…
Research paper
Measuring health system resilience in a highly fragile nation during protracted conflict: South Sudan 2011–15
Complementing real-time data with survey data collected in South Sudan at independence (2011) and following 2 years of protracted conflict (2015), this study constructed and then compared a resilience index and stress index. Overall maternal, neonatal and child health coverage…
Research paper
Authority that is customary: Kitawala, customary chiefs, and the plurality of power in Congolese history
This paper uses the history of the religious/healing movement Kitawala in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a lens to explore the relationship between forms of state-sanctioned “customary” authority and alternative nodes of “authority that is customary.” Focusing on three…
Research paper
Maternal Vaccination in Uganda: Exploring Pregnant Women, Community Leaders and Healthcare Workers’ Perceptions
This research used qualitative methods to explore pregnant women, community leaders, healthcare workers, and programme managers’ perceptions of maternal vaccination in Kampala, Uganda. The authors found that public health messaging should target all community members, including partners and parents of…
Research paper
Lives Interrupted: Navigating Hardship During COVID-19 Provides Lessons in Solidarity and Visibility for Mobile Young People in South Africa and Uganda
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended assumptions about livelihood security. The authors examine data from young women and men in South Africa and young female sex workers in Uganda to explore the inequalities and hardships experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and…
Policy document
The Public Health Act, Uganda
The legal basis for public health state action, originally passed in 1935.
Policy document
Uganda Health Sector Integrated Refugee Response Plan 2019-2024
Written by the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the Health Sector Integrated Refugee Response Plan sets out policies for supplementing service delivery in refugee-hosting communities, to meet the needs of everyone in the targeted areas.
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics Between Uganda and Tanzania in the Context of the Outbreak of Ebola, 2022
This brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between Tanzania and Uganda in the context of the outbreak of Ebola (Sudan Virus Disease, SVD) in Uganda. It is part of a series focusing on at-risk border areas between Uganda and…
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics Between Uganda and Kenya in the Context of the Outbreak of Ebola, 2022
This brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between Uganda and Kenya in the context of the outbreak of Ebola (Sudan Virus Disease, SVD) in Uganda. It is part of a series focusing on at-risk border areas between Uganda and…
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics Between Uganda and South Sudan in the Context of the Outbreak of Ebola, 2022
This Key Considerations brief looks at cross-border dynamics between South Sudan and Uganda in the context of the 2022 outbreak of Ebola in Uganda, and the risk of the spread of the virus into South Sudan.
Briefing
Exploring community dynamics around the plague outbreak in Ituri province, DRC
In April 2021, the Social Sciences Analytics Cell (CASS), in collaboration with UNICEF and the Provincial Health Division (DPS) in Bunia conducted exploratory research applying the Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) approach in three health zones affected by a suspected plague…
Case study
COVID-19 school closures in the DRC: impact on the health, protection and education of children and youth
This report presents an analysis of the impact of school closures as a COVID-19 response measure in the DRC, and is intended to inform evidence-based programming to mitigate the short- and long-term consequences to health, protection, and education of children…
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics Between South Sudan and DRC fr
Key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between South Sudan and DRC including borderlands and trade dynamics.
Briefing
Cross Border Dynamics: Burundi-DRC
Key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between Burundi and DRC including politicisation and armed groups.
Briefing
Cross-Border Dynamics and Healthcare in West Nile, Uganda
Key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics and health structures and behaviours in the West Nile sub-region of north-west Uganda.
Briefing
Rwanda – DRC cross border dynamics fr
This Key Considerations brief concerns cross-border dynamics between Rwanda and DRC, including cross-border relations and political and economic dynamics.
Briefing
Cultural Practices on Burial and Care for the Sick in South Sudan
Literature on cultural practices for burial and care for the sick among individual ethnic groups in South Sudan was very limited. However, it clearly points to the importance of proper burials among all ethnic groups: these typically entail washing the…
Background report
Rift Valley Fever: A Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Slaughterhouse Workers and Community Members in Kabale District, Uganda
Rift Valley Fever virus (RVF) is a zoonotic virus in the Phenuiviridae family. RVF outbreaks can cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. Following the diagnosis of two RVF cases in March 2016 in southern Kabale district, Uganda,…
Briefing
Knowledge and Practices Related to Plague in an Endemic Area of Uganda
Plague is a virulent zoonosis reported most commonly from Sub-Saharan Africa. Early treatment with antibiotics is important to prevent mortality. Understanding knowledge gaps and common behaviors informs the development of educational efforts to reduce plague mortality. Methods A multi-stage cluster-sampled…
Background report
Infection Control During Filoviral Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreaks: Preferences of Community Members and Health Workers in Masindi, Uganda
Interviews were conducted with health workers and community members in Masindi, Uganda on improving the acceptability of infection control measures used during an Ebola outbreak. Measures that promote cultural sensitivity and transparency of control activities were preferred and should be…