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https://theconversation.com/foreign-healthcare-volunteers-in-africa-can-harm-local-relationships-zambian-study-228707>
"Thousands of global health volunteers, most from the United States, travel to
Africa every year. These volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and have
varying levels of experience. They include surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses
and medical students. They arrive with the ambition to improve health outcomes
in Africa and learn about “global health”.
In my research I have studied the impact of these volunteers in Zambia. Between
2014 and 2016, I conducted research at a rural hospital where medical
volunteers from the US provided various forms of medical care, including eye
surgeries, caesarian sections, and treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and
HIV.
In my latest research paper I examine how the presence of these volunteers
affected the lives and relationships of people in Zambia.
My key finding is that the presence of medical volunteers caused damage to the
relationships between Zambian health professionals and patients.
I identify this as a kind of “relational harm”.
These findings are important because relationships are central to the delivery
of effective healthcare. Clinical care requires material infrastructure: power,
water, hospital beds, medical gloves and technical devices. But it also
requires strong relationships of cooperation, trust and mutual recognition.
I conclude from my findings that academics, volunteers, and global health
organisations should pay more attention to the “relational harm” that
volunteering can cause in under-resourced settings where privileged volunteers
work amid extreme inequality."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
