Global health volunteering, the Ebola outbreak, and instrumental humanitarianisms in Sierra Leone

Herrick, Clare; Brooks, Andrew

doi:10.1111/tran.12356

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(53 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, a recent piece ‘contextualising COVID‐19 geographically’ (Sparke & Anguelov, 2020) shows that of the seven sub‐themes of enquiry and analysis that might serve to situate COVID‐19 within the discipline, a humanitarian frame should arguably have been an eighth. And yet, within the discipline, the humanitarian endeavour has been powerfully explored, particularly within the contexts of migration, refugees, and asylum seekers (Pallister‐Wilkins, 2018a; Pascucci, 2017), the camp (Brankamp, 2019; Ramadan, 2013), and in engagements with international volunteering (Herrick & Brooks, 2020; Laurie & Baillie Smith, 2017; Schech, 2017; Schech et al, 2016). Within—and allied to—this work, questions of borders and the changing spaces of humanitarian intervention emerge as particularly pertinent (Pallister‐Wilkins, 2017, 2018b).…”

Section: Geographies Of Crisis: Humanitarianiam Development Global He...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanitarian inversions:COVID‐19 as crisis

Herrick

Kelly

Soulard

2022

Trans Inst British Geog

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

COVID‐19 is a multi‐spectral crisis that has added an acute layer over a panoply of complex emergencies across the world. In the process, it has not only exposed actually‐existing emergencies, but also exacerbated them as the global gaze has turned inward. As a crisis, COVID‐19 straddles and challenges the boundaries between humanitarianism, development and global health – the frames and categories through which emergencies are so often understood and intervened upon. Reflection on these fundamental categories is, we argue, an important geographical endeavour. Drawing on Geoffrey Bowker’s analytical lens of the ‘infrastructural inversion’, we explore how humanitarianism has been upended by Covid‐19 along two axes that are of core concern to geographers: (1) the spatial; and (2) the temporal. We first contextualise current debates on the humanitarian endeavour and its future within recent geographical research. We then set out the complex structure by which COVID‐19 has been both imagined and intervened upon as a humanitarian emergency. In so doing, we then pave the way for a deeper empirical analysis of the spatial and temporal inversions that have been brought forth by COVID‐19. The paper concludes by examining the conceptual value of the ‘inversion’ in developing geographical research agendas better attuned to the increasing porosity of humanitarianism, development and global health.

show abstract

Section: Geographies Of Crisis: Humanitarianiam Development Global He...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanitarian inversions:COVID‐19 as crisis

Herrick

Kelly

Soulard

2022

Trans Inst British Geog

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Religious organizations, civic clubs, nongovernmental organizations, corporate groups, and even for-profit volunteer placement companies have offered GHEs for those without specialized skillsets to participate in global health volunteering abroad [14]. As such, opportunities abound for both skilled health professionals and nonskilled lay people to travel to LMICs to participate in global health activities, including medical missions, service-learning projects, and a wide range of volunteer service activities [15,16]. Ranging from a few days to several weeks, GHEs take place in LMICs around the world with varying degrees of coordination with local stakeholders [7,11,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examples of recent studies focused on HIC individuals participating in GHEs include those examining satisfaction and motivations for participation among volunteers; the impact on long-term career paths for students; and cultural competency skills development [26][27][28][29]. In addition to allowing HIC individuals to build their resumes, engagement in GHEs provides participants (particularly medical trainees) the ability to see tropical diseases firsthand or to develop cross-cultural communications skills in an effort to promote themselves as well-rounded and experienced candidates in the job market [4,15]. HIC participation in GHEs has also been shown to influence career choices, leading participants to choose careers in public service [30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent literature review revealed only 31 studies reporting local stakeholder perspectives from LMICs, mostly consisting of multicountry surveys from LMICs around the world, although none focused solely on Kenya, despite the regular occurrence of GHEs in this setting. Studies of GHEs have shown that LMICs are often recipients of GHEs due in part to longstanding social, cultural, and political ties between institutions and communities within the host country and the sending country [6,14,15]. Since 1964, Kenya has maintained favorable and consistent diplomatic relations with the United States following its independence from Britain in December 1963 [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This long history has no doubt contributed, at least in part, to many Americans' perception of Kenya as a safe and stable country-a factor also known to attract GHEs [14]. Kenya's status as an English-speaking country and a top-notch safari destination are possible considerations that make Kenya an attractive location for some individuals pursuing GHEs, while others may be drawn to global health "hotspots" on the African continent due to (perhaps misguided) perceptions of needs related to poverty or health crises [15]. Whatever the motivations, Americans and other HIC individuals pursuing GHEs have maintained a notable and sustained presence in Kenya in recent decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Perceptions of Global Health Engagements in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Care Workers and Administrators in Western Kenya: Protocol for a Multistage Qualitative Study

Amick¹,

Naanyu²,

Bucher³

et al. 2023

JMIR Res Protoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background There has been significant interest in global health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) among individuals living in high-income countries (HICs) over the past 30 years. Much of the literature on global health engagements (GHEs) has been presented from the perspective of individuals from high-income countries. Local stakeholders such as health care workers and health care administrators represent critical constituencies for global health activities, yet their perspectives are underrepresented in the literature. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of local health care workers and administrators with GHEs in Kenya. We will explore the perceived role GHEs play in preparing the health system to address a public health crisis, as well as their role in pandemic recovery and its aftermath. Objective The aims of this study are to (1) examine how Kenyan health care workers and administrators interpret experiences with GHEs as having advantaged or hindered them and the local health system to provide care during an acute public health crisis and (2) to explore recommendations to reimagine GHEs in a postpandemic Kenya. Methods This study will be conducted at a large teaching and referral hospital in western Kenya with a long history of hosting GHEs in support of its tripartite mission of providing care, training, and research. This qualitative study will be conducted in 3 phases. In phase 1, in-depth interviews will be conducted to capture participants’ lived experience in relation to their unique understandings of the pandemic, GHEs, and the local health system. In phase 2, group discussions using nominal group techniques will be conducted to determine potential priority areas to reimagine future GHEs. In phase 3, in-depth interviews will be conducted to explore these priority areas in greater detail to explore recommendations for potential strategies, policies, and other actions that might be used to achieve the priorities determined to be of highest importance. Results The study activities commenced in late summer 2022, with findings to be published in 2023. It is anticipated that the findings from this study will provide insight into the role GHEs play in a local health system in Kenya and provide critical stakeholder and partner input from persons hitherto ignored in the design, implementation, and management of GHEs. Conclusions This qualitative study will examine the perspectives of GHEs in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic among Kenyan health care workers and health care administrators in western Kenya using a multistage protocol. Using a combination of in-depth interviews and nominal group techniques, this study aims to shed light on the roles global health activities are perceived to play in preparing health care professionals and the health system to address an acute public health crisis. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/41836

show abstract

The scale, forms and distribution of volunteering amongst refugee youth populations in Uganda

Fadel,

Baillie Smith,

Mills

et al. 2024

Population Space and Place

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geographies of volunteering have examined the relationships between people, places and forms of voluntary action, but there has been limited geographical scholarship on the scales, forms and distribution of volunteering amongst specific populations in different settings, particularly in the global South. While in the global North there are some established quantitative data sets, often produced by humanitarian and development organisations, these are largely absent in the South. Where they do exist, they often reflect Western‐centric ideas and concepts, meaning that volunteering behaviours that do not fit Western norms—such as amongst young refugees in the global South—can be excluded, or captured in ways that are partial or unrepresentative. This paper provides an important challenge to existing geographies of volunteering, expanding them through an account of volunteering amongst young refugees in Uganda, and how it articulates with social inequalities within and between the spaces and places where young refugees live. We analyse quantitative data from 3053 young refugees surveyed on their volunteering experiences in rural and urban settings in Uganda. The data provides new evidence of who these volunteers are, beyond their refugee status, why, where and how they conduct their activities, and reveals how these are connected to livelihoods and community development. Through this survey analysis, the paper argues for the need to establish grounded conceptualisations of volunteering that consider the scales, distribution, and various forms of volunteering within specific groups. In doing so, the paper offers a new framework for better understanding the relationships between volunteering and refugee lives through four interlocking factors: place, (im)mobility, income and gender. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for wider geographies of volunteering and research on refugee youth and displaced populations.

show abstract

Global health volunteering, the Ebola outbreak, and instrumental humanitarianisms in Sierra Leone

Cited by 5 publications

References 79 publications

Humanitarian inversions:COVID‐19 as crisis

Humanitarian inversions:COVID‐19 as crisis

Perceptions of Global Health Engagements in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Care Workers and Administrators in Western Kenya: Protocol for a Multistage Qualitative Study

The scale, forms and distribution of volunteering amongst refugee youth populations in Uganda

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About