Historical Perspectives on the State of Health and Health Systems in Africa, Volume I: The Pre-Colonial and Colonial Eras (African Histories and Modernities)

This book examines the historical and current state of health and the health of the African people, including the Arab North, impacted by such factors as geography and natural elements, cultural and colonial traditions, and competing biomedical and traditional systems. It also looks at technological advances, poverty and health disparities, utilization of resources, and international presence, as reflected by the work of the World Health Organization, and structural adjustments imposed by the IMF and the World Bank. Front Matter....Pages i-xxiii Public Health in Africa: Theoretical Framework....Pages 1-77 African Traditional Therapeutics: Disease Causation, Agency, and Efficacy....Pages 79-128 Medicine, Culture, and People’s Options....Pages 129-182 The Colonial Medical System(s) and the Health of Africans....Pages 183-214 British “Health Effort” in Colonial Africa....Pages 215-242 Health: The French and Their Colonial Empire....Pages 243-281 The Health of Africans: Portuguese, Belgian, Italian, Spanish, and German Rule....Pages 283-330 Colonial Rule: Missionaries and “Mercenaries” of Fortune and the Health of Africans....Pages 331-366 Back Matter....Pages 367-382 Annotation This text examines the historical and current state of health and the health of the African people, including the Arab North, impacted by such factors as geography and natural elements, cultural and colonial traditions, and competing biomedical and traditional systems. It also looks at technological advances, poverty and health disparities, utilization of resources, and international presence, as reflected by the work of the World Health Organization, and structural adjustments imposed by the IMF and the World Bank