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Conjuring Biosecurity in the Post-Ebola Kissi Triangle: The Magic of Paperwork in a Frontier Clinic.
This article considers the increasing centrality of biosecurity and epidemiological surveillance as key priorities for the Sierra Leonean health care system after the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak.
Envisioning, Evaluating and Co-Enacting Performance in Global Health Interventions: Ethnographic Insights from Senegal
The notion of performance has become dominant in health programming, whether being embodied through pay-for-performance schemes or through other incentive-based interventions. In this article, we seek to unpack the idea of performance and performing in a dialogical fashion between field-based…
Keeping People in Place: Political Factors of (Im)mobility and Climate Change
We delve into the socio-cultural and economic nature of (im)mobilities as they interact with political forces, specifically by exploring international bilateral agreements (Senegal) and a relocation program (Vietnam).
Lessons learned from engaging communities for Ebola vaccine trials in Sierra Leone: reciprocity, relatability, relationships and respect (the four R’s)
Building trust and engaging the community are important for biomedical trials. This was core to the set up and delivery of the EBOVAC-Salone and PREVAC Ebola vaccine trials in Sierra Leone during and following the 2014–2016 West African Ebola epidemic.…
Metrics of Survival: Post-Abortion Care and Reproductive Rights in Senegal.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Senegal between 2010 and 2011, the author demonstrates how health professionals have deployed indicators such as number of women and abortion type treated in government hospitals to demonstrate commitment to global mandates on reproductive…
Research paper
Social learning, influence, and ethnomedicine: Individual, neighborhood and social network influences on attachment to an ethnomedical cultural model in rural Senegal
In this paper, the authors examine the association between individual, neighborhood, and social network characteristics and the likelihood of attachment to an ethnomedical cultural model encompassing beliefs about etiology of disease, appropriate therapeutic and preventative measures, and more general beliefs…
Research paper
West African Migration in the Age of Climate Change : Translocal Perspectives on Mobility from Mali and Senegal
This thesis contributes to the debate on climate change, environment, and migration by scrutinizing conceptual and methodological deficiencies and adopting a migration research perspective. The author uses a multi-sited ethnography in Mali and Senegal to show how human activites shape…
Research paper
Why didn’t you write this in your diary? Or how nurses (mis)used clinic diaries to (re)claim shared reflexive spaces in Senegal
At the intersection between writings and silences, this paper explores the role played by the clinic diaries to mediate ethnographic encounters, and the iterative nature of ‘doing fieldwork’ to produce knowledge in hierarchical health systems. This paper also reflects on…
Background report
Your Pocket Is What Cures You: The Politics of Health in Senegal
In the wake of structural adjustment programs in the 1980s and health reforms in the 1990s, the majority of sub-Saharan African governments spend less than ten dollars per capita on health annually, and many Africans have limited access to basic…
Report
Participatory vulnerability analysis in the north of the Gaza Strip
This report draws on a workshop, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to understand the vulnerability of communities and livelihoods in the northern Gaza Strip, including how this enabled the design of resilience-oriented actions.
Evidence review
Socio-Cultural Considerations for Vaccine Introduction and Community Engagement fr
Key considerations and immediate recommendations, particularly for community engagement, in May 2018 for the Ebola outbreak in DRC.
Briefing
Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Considerations: Ebola Response in DR Congo
This document was developed by the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme as a resource for the response to the outbreak in DR Congo in May 2018. It is intended to be used to guide risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) work…
Background report
“It feels like I’m the dirtiest person in the world.”: Exploring the Experiences of Healthcare Providers who Survived MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia
In summer 2015, a Saudi 1000-bed tertiary care hospital experienced a serious outbreak among patients of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS); during which, some healthcare providers contracted the virus, but none died. The outbreak provoked not only fear and stress;…
Background report
Attitudes towards Zika Virus Infection among Medical Doctors in Acehprovince, Indonesia
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, a public health emergency of international concern, has recently been confirmed in Indonesia. However, to date, there has been no study to assess how prepared healthcare workers in Indonesia are to confront this emerging infectious disease.…
Evidence review
Cell Phones as an Anticipatory Technology: Behind the Hype of Big Data for Ebola Detection and Containment
This paper analyzes ethnographic and cartographic evidence from Sierra Leone that show the limitations of big data relative to the containment of Ebola. In this paper, big data is both a technology itself and also a foundation and catalyst for…
Briefing
“We are the heroes because we are ready to die for this country”: Participants’ Decision-Making and “Grounded Ethics” in an Ebola Vaccine Clinical Trial
The 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic presented a challenging setting in which to carry out clinical trials. This paper reports findings from social science research carried out in Kambia, Northern Sierra Leone during first year of an Ebola vaccine trial (August 2015–July…
Background report
The Fight against Lassa Fever in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: A Clash of the People’s Culture and Broadcast Media Campaign
Ebonyi State of Nigeria is among the states where the incidence of Lassa Fever has become endemic; and has consequently led to the death of many people including health practitioners in the state. To mobilise the people against the disease,…
Background report
Unintended Consequences of the ‘Bushmeat Ban’ in West Africa during the 2013-2016 Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic
Following the 2013-2016 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa, governments across the region imposed a ban on the hunting and consumption of meat from wild animals. This injunction was accompanied by public health messages emphasising the infectious…
Background report
Women’s Reproductive Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Relation to the Zika Virus Outbreak in Northeast Brazil
The objective of this report is to assess knowledge, pregnancy attitudes and contraceptive practices in relation to the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil. They interviewed 526 women 18 to 49 years old in primary health services in a Northeastern capital…
Evidence review
Burial, Funeral and Mourning Practices in Équateur Province, DRC fr
Key socio-cultural considerations concerning events related to death, burial, funerals (rites or ceremonies), and mourning.
Briefing
Key Considerations: Health-Seeking Behaviours in Équateur Province, DRC fr
Key socio-cultural considerations concerning health beliefs and health-seeking behaviour.
Briefing
Engaging Twa Communities in Équateur Province fr
Key socio-anthropological considerations regarding ‘indigenous communities’.
Video: Encouraging Safe and Dignified Burial of People who have Died from Ebola
Social Anthropologist Julienne Anoko visits communities to encourage safe and dignified burial. Infection of the Ebola virus can occur from touching the bodies of those who have died from Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Briefing
The Context of North Kivu Province, DRC fr
Key considerations about the context of North Kivu province including insecurity and local actors.
Tools
Local burial and mourning practices: open-ended questions
Questionnaires for rapid quantitative surveys and qualitative appraisals of burial and funeral practices in the context of an Ebola outbreak.
Briefing
Burial, Funeral and Mourning Practices in North Kivu Province, DRC fr
Key socio-cultural considerations of events related to death, burial, funerals (rites or ceremonies), and mourning.
Briefing
Changing Behaviours & Care-Seeking Practices in the Grand Nord, North Kivu, DRC fr
Key considerations and immediate recommendations related to community engagement.
Briefing
WhatsApp and Local Media (Grand Nord)
An overview of key messages circulating on WhatsApp and the local media (radio, print and video) in North Kivu in September 2018.
Briefing
Risk Communication and Community Engagement Preparedness and Readiness Framework: Ebola Response in the Democratic Republic of Congo in North Kivu
Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is an essential part of any disease outbreak response. Risk communication in the context of an Ebola outbreak refers to real time exchange of information, opinion and advice between frontline responders and people who are faced with the threat of Ebola…
Briefing
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, North Kivu, DRC fr
Key considerations including recommendations to strengthen the mental health and psychosocial response.
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…
Briefing
Behavioural Data Compilation #1 fr
A rapid compilation of data analyses for November 2018 in the context of the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Briefing
Xenofobia y Discriminación Hacia Refugiados y Migrantes Venezolanos en Ecuador y Lecciones Aprendidas para la Promoción de la Inclusión Social
La crisis política y económica en Venezuela ha transformado al país desde 2010 de un país receptor de inmigrantes a un país emisor de emigrantes. Más de 4,000 venezolanos ingresan a Ecuador cada día, y actualmente la población de venezolanos…
Briefing
Social Science in Epidemics: Cholera Lessons Learned (Background Report)
This report is the first instalment of the ‘Social Science in Epidemics’ series, commissioned by the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Direct Assistance (OFDA). In this series, past outbreaks are reviewed in order to identify social science ‘entry points’ for…
Briefing
Ebola Preparedness and Traditional Healers in South Sudan
This review focuses on the evidence on Ebola preparedness in South Sudan through an anthropological lens, looking at informal and traditional health care systems. It presents the evidence on how these can be utilised for surveillance, behaviour change communication, and…
Briefing
Uganda-DRC Cross-Border Dynamics
This brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between Uganda and DRC, including surveillance and community engagement.
