Author : Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta,Tabi Chama-James Tabenyang
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2020-12-29
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9789004436428
Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa by Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta,Tabi Chama-James Tabenyang Pdf
In Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta and Tabi Chama-James Tabenyang unpack the contentious South African government’s post-apartheid policy framework of the ‘‘return to tradition policy’’. The conjuncture between deep sociopolitical crises, witchcraft, the ravaging HIV/AIDS pandemic and the government’s initial reluctance to adopt antiretroviral therapy turned away desperate HIV/AIDS patients to traditional healers. Drawing on historical sources, policy documents and ethnographic interviews, Pemunta and Tabenyang convincingly demonstrate that despite biomedical hegemony, patients and members of their therapy-seeking group often shuttle between modern and traditional medicine, thereby making both systems of healthcare complementary rather than alternatives. They draw the attention of policy-makers to the need to be aware of ‘‘subaltern health narratives’’ in designing health policy.