400030 Health in Africa (S) (SoSe 2014)

Health in Africa
Course Description
“Health in Africa” will raise international health concerns with a particular focus on
factors shaping population health in Africa. Health priorities in Africa are on the global
health agenda. Besides the HIV/AIDS challenge, African societies are struggling with
poverty-related diseases and conditions. Students of Public Health require an
understanding of the „African context‟ for effective international implementation research
and development cooperation. Hence, this module will emerge from African experiences
and perspectives by drawing classical illustrations and references from Africa. There is
the need to situate health concerns in Africa within social and cultural milieu. The
module will represent a compilation of detailed ideas about the significance and
relevance of intercultural perspectives especially as it relates to health. It will present a
shift from mere theoretical precepts to practical illustrations that will aid understanding of
socio-cultural spaces in the study and understanding of health problems and health
systems.
The starting point in the module will be a brief description of the geographic region
called „Africa‟ stressing on the ethnographic descriptions of African societies, people and
cultures. Attempt will be made to describe African societies and cultures focusing on
different cultural regions of Africa, social organizations, and some fundamental worldviews. There are increasing concerns to make modern health care available to all. The
module will analyze how African societies are coping with their health care needs and
choices. The two-tear health systems in most African countries will be examined.
Students will be introduced to socio-cultural concepts relating to health, and medical
pluralism (existence of traditional and modern medicine) in Africa. Basically, there will
be reference to the social and cultural factors engendering human health and illness,
impact of social group and cultural patterns on health care, effects of socio-cultural
factors on the utilization of medical facilities, analysis of health and illness behaviors.
There will be assessment of political economy of health in Africa. This will expose the
students to comprehend how socio-economic and political processes interact to account
for health production. There will be examination of the global movement of sexual health
and rights with particular focus on Islamic communities in Africa. How do the cultures
influence rights and privileges in the society? The global assessment of malaria burden
with particular reference to Sub-Saharan African will be examined. The particular focus
will be on the responses towards the malaria challenge and why the problem still persists.
The language of instruction in this module will be English language. This will expand the
English language skills of the students. It will also provide training in the analysis,
understanding and interpretation of health-related concepts in different regions. More
importantly, the examination of trans-cultural processes and circumstances will be part of
the primary target of this course. The module sets to expose students to multi dimensional issues relating to health of the people and how students can learn from
various scenarios.
2
Students will be able to reflect on their immediate society and observe spatial realities
and differences. The course provides an opportunity to bridge the gap of knowledge as a
result of national boundaries. It is an opportunity for students to think „out of the box‟
and beyond regional boundaries. Therefore, it is also an attempt to expose the students to
unfamiliar socio-cultural spaces and understand the „strangers‟ living there, thus
providing an avenue for global cultural understanding and appreciation. Other specific
objectives include:
1. Identify and analysis interrelated determinants of health and major health
problems in Africa
2. Gain understanding and overview of the challenges of health care system in
Africa
3. Learn more health related concepts and adapt them to explain health issues in
Africa.
4. Expose students to the socio-cultural factors and processes that influence
population health
5. Get practical discussions that will enhance international reflections,
comparison and understanding of global health.