Author : Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta
Release : 2020-12-29
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 421/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa by : Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta

Download or read book Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa written by Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta. This book was released on 2020-12-29. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.