Phone calls and political ping-pong: nodding syndrome and healthcare provision in Uganda

Bemmel, Karin van

doi:10.1080/17531055.2019.1603960

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the years following the opening of these centres, NS emerged as an important public health issue and much speculation arose about its causes; e.g. an experiment gone wrong, relief food poisoned with chemical preservatives, the after effect of exposure to munitions during war, psychological consequences of the conflict, the lack of ancestral ceremonies, revengeful spirits, or a deliberate attempt to harm the Acholi population (Van Bemmel, 2016a, 2016b, 2017b. From a biomedical perspective, NS is believed to be a new type of epilepsy.…”

Section: Nodding Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualizing Illness: Nodding Syndrome in Northern Uganda

Bemmel¹

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents an ethnographic study of conceptualizations of nodding syndrome (NS) in Uganda. NS is a poorly understood condition characterized by repetitive nodding of the head, mental retardation and stunted growth, which affects thousands of children in northern Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania. Although extensive research for causative agents has been conducted, no convincing single cause has been reported. This study establishes an understanding of different representations of NS and argues that the episodes of head nodding are related to the socio-political body in which they are manifested. Three interwoven approaches towards NS take main stage whereby the syndrome is presented as a biomedical, spiritual and/or political problem. The conceptualizations are linked to different notions of healing and affected families combine various forms of therapy. Through the examination of different narratives, this study disrupts the idea of a singular perspective on illness and pleads for a focus on motion and plurality. KEY WORDS: NODDING SYNDROME, UGANDA, HEALTH, CONCEPTUALIZATION, ANTHROPOLOGY

show abstract

Section: Nodding Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%