Dr. Paul Mkandawire, Assistant Professor and a health geographer in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, is this week’s FASS blogger. In his entry, Professor Mkandawire writes about an exciting opportunity for Carleton students to participate in an Institute of African Studies study abroad course in Malawi. This spring 2016 course will focus on global inequalities in health care, specifically those related to HIV/AIDS.
In the spring of 2016 the Institute of African Studies will offer a study abroad course that will focus on the challenges of addressing global inequalities in health through the lens of HIV/AIDS. This course will take place in Malawi (former British colony), a small landlocked country in Southern Africa with a landmass of 11800km2 (ten times smaller than the size of Ontario). In tourist travel guidebooks Malawi is popularly known as the Warm Heart of Africa. Renowned for its genuinely friendly local population, it is common for locals to wave and greet visitors as if they know them. Curious children often come by to say ‘moni’ (hello) and ‘zikomo’ (thank you) in the national language (Chichewa). Malawi is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with a majestic lake that stretches almost the entire length of its eastern border. Lake Malawi itself, with remarkably clear waters, exceptionally splendid beaches, and mountainous backdrop, is a UNESCO World Heritage centre. There are over 1000 fish species in Lake Malawi, making it a site of immense global importance for biodiversity conversation.
Malawi’s natural beauty and scenic landscape, however, stands in sharp contrast to its high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Since the HIV virus was first officially reported in 1985, the spread of HIV/AIDS has accelerated to its current prevalence of 10.2% in the adult population. This course will expose students to the actual realities of HIV/AIDS with the aim of helping them to develop a critical understanding of the concatenation of adverse economic, political, and economic factors that continue to fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS and create obstacles to effective response.
Early cases of HIV in Malawi in the late 1980s were concentrated amongst the wealthy, and one of the high profile cases included a former beauty queen. Most of these individuals were thought to have been infected abroad. Because HIV/AIDS was until then unknown to the average Malawian, a major challenge in crafting the first national response was choosing an appropriate local name for the disease. Valuable time was lost to nip the disease in the bud as the government wavered to acknowledge the full extent of the problem, and as scientists demanded more time to grasp of the pattern of the epidemic. In addition, the under-developed healthcare system, which had suffered underinvestment during the colonial and postcolonial era, was ill-equipped to deal with such an epidemic. As the young, educated and beautiful began to succumb, witchcraft-related jealousy was often cited as the cause. Minimal action by the government in these early days created an atmosphere of confusion and panic, especially amidst reports that HIV/AIDS was a disease without a cure.
In a context where more than 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, HIV/AIDS quickly moved down the economic fault-line, and the poor began to quickly fill the ranks of those infected and affected. To talk about the rich-poor divide in a country with a per capita income of US$300 might seem a little farfetched, but vast extremes of wealth and poverty do exist in Malawi, and there is ample evidence to indicate that these imbalances have in fact worsened over the years: stunning resorts and flimsy fishing villages; skyscrapers and steaming sweatshops; bountiful supermarkets and widespread hunger; state of the art medicine and traditional medicine; magnificent forests and degraded pastures; sumptuous mansions and sprawling shantytowns. In other words, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi also has profound international dimensions. It is deeply intertwined with the rise of neoliberal austerity. Thus even Malawi, a small landlocked country which one could hardly locate on the world map has not been able to escape the long hand of neoliberal globalization facilitated by Northern donors, international financial institutions, and a cosmopolitan governing elite.
This course is a great opportunity for students to critically examine the interwoven nature of structural violence and HIV/AIDS, and to see firsthand how these deeply inequitable political, economic and social realities fuel the spread of the epidemic and hamper effective national and international response. Particular attention will be paid to the specificities of historical experiences and how they relate to larger themes scoped in the foregoing outline. Supported by Carleton’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, this Institute of African Studies course will be facilitated by Canadian and Malawian instructors and will combine classroom presentations with field visits to key public health institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and other relevant establishments in Mzuzu, Northern Malawi. Based at Mzuzu University, the Carleton students will gain incredible insights, knowledge, and life experiences to help them learn and appreciate the intricate interrelationships between health and illness and political and economic conditions at the local, national and global levels.
- Dr. Paul Mkandawire
Friday 2 October @ 2:30 pm: 433 Paterson Hall (History Lounge) Wednesday 7 October @ 6:00 pm: 433 Paterson Hall (History Lounge)