De-Politicizing Parasites: Reflections on Attempts to Control the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Large amounts of funding are being allocated to the control of neglected tropical diseases. Strategies primarily rely on the mass distribution of drugs to adults and children living in endemic areas. The approach is presented as morally appropriate, technically effective, and context-free. Drawing on research undertaken in East Africa, we discuss ways in which normative ideas about global health programs are used to set aside social and biological evidence. In particular, there is a tendency to ignore local details, including information about actual drug take up. Ferguson’s ‘anti-politics’ thesis is a useful starting point for analyzing why this happens, but is overly deterministic. Anti-politics discourse about healing the suffering poor may shape thinking and help explain cognitive dissonance. However, use of such discourse is also a means of strategically promoting vested interests and securing funding. Whatever the underlying motivations, rhetoric and realities are conflated, with potentially counterproductive consequences.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  Medical Anthropology

• Publication date

  2014-04-24

• Fields of study

  Sociology, Medicine, Environmental Science, Political Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/01459740.2013.831414PMID 24761976PMCID 4487575
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• Anti-politics discourse can shape thinking, help explain cognitive dissonance, and strategically support vested interests and funding, with rhetoric and realities becoming conflated in ways that may be counterproductive.

  Confidence 0.90

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• Ferguson's anti-politics thesis is a useful starting point for explaining these dynamics, but it is presented as overly deterministic.

  Confidence 0.88

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• Control efforts are described as relying on context-free mass drug distribution while overlooking local details such as actual drug take up.

  Confidence 0.95

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• Normative ideas about global health programs are used to set aside social and biological evidence in neglected tropical disease control.

  Confidence 0.91

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review

• anti-politics discourse

  discourse

  Language that presents parasite control as morally neutral, technically straightforward, and context-free.

  Aliases: anti-politics

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• anti-politics thesis

  theory

  Ferguson's argument that depoliticized development and aid discourse masks power relations and politics.

  Aliases: anti-politics

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• drug take up

  outcome

  The extent to which people in endemic communities actually receive or accept the distributed drugs.

  Aliases: drug uptake

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• funding

  resource

  Financial support for neglected tropical disease control programs that the paper says can be secured through such rhetoric.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• global health programs

  program

  International health initiatives whose normative framing is examined in relation to parasite control.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• mass drug distribution

  intervention

  A public health strategy that delivers drugs to adults and children across endemic areas.

  Aliases: mass distribution of drugs

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• neglected tropical diseases

  disease group

  A group of endemic tropical infections targeted by mass control programs in the paper's discussion.

  Aliases: NTDs

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• social and biological evidence

  evidence

  Local social information and biological evidence considered in evaluating disease-control efforts.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review
• vested interests

  stakeholder interest

  Institutional or strategic interests that may benefit from promoting depoliticized control narratives.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) reviewAK (4715169a40) review

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