Public health and tropical modernity: the combat against sleeping sickness in Portuguese Guinea, 1945-1974.

Hist Cienc Saude Manguinhos

Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Published: June 2016

Until the establishment of the "Commission for the study of and combat against sleeping sickness" (Missão de estudo e combate à doença do sono) in 1945, underfunded and understaffed health services had not been a priority for the colonial administration in Portuguese Guinea. The Commission not only implemented endemic disease control in the territory under the auspices of metropolitan institutions, but also provided preventive public healthcare to the local population. Its relative success in reducing the negative impact of Human African Trypanosomiasis turned the colony into an apparent model of tropical modernity. In the process, the local evolution of the disease was marginalized, despite the tacit but contested recognition by some health professionals of the role of popular healthcare.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0104-59702014005000013DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

tropical modernity
8
combat sleeping
8
portuguese guinea
8
public health
4
health tropical
4
modernity combat
4
sleeping sickness
4
sickness portuguese
4
guinea 1945-1974
4
1945-1974 establishment
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!