It has been commented several times that I had a more “interesting” first mission than most. Now the adjective “interested” is a dangerous, loaded term when working for MSF. So on my second the day in the clinic, when the nurse lead comes in and says to my colleague “you have had measles cases!?” I knew that things were going to get “interesting”. It is a truism of measles that it is impossible to see only one case, if you have seen one, there are many many more nearby. This is a disease literally 8 times more infectious than Covid, and the most infectious disease in the world bar none.…
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Donkeys, “primary” healthcare and complexity
After the quiet significant detour of being transferred to be lead doctor in a field hospital ofa refugee camp, three quarantines, an enforced holiday to Ethiopia and more than weeks waiting a travel permit I was finally on a UN plane to Nyala, Darfur. The donkey-based project I had originally be earmarked for. The UN plane was something that, predictably, sounds much more exciting than it is, saying that, Khartoum domestic terminal was an experience, much more akin to a chaotic bus station than an airport, with families cramping huge plastic bags through tokenistic security with on the vaguest suggestion of a queue amongst the throngs of people Arriving at…
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Addis, I Like you
I sit on my rooftop, the sounds of construction intruded slightly from behind me, the strain voices from a speaker turned up too loud from below; it has a religious tone to it; I couldn’t tell you if it Islamic or Christian. The non- distinct buzz of the streets can be heard, too faint to be delineated but I can imagine the minibuses shouted out their destination even before they have pulled to a stop, the ladies selling there 25 cent traditional (but still excellent) coffee from ever available alcove, doorway and empty patch of pavement and the ever present shoe shine boys pointing at your feet as your walk…
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White saviours, global health and aeroplanes.
White saviour. I am glad I am aware of this term. I am definitely white and may have actually saved a few lives in my time. But the term is mostly meant to derogatory. A dismissive term for those who come from the Europe or the global west to Africa or the global south without understanding the context. Who seek to impose there own solutions onto the problems of a continent. Who often refer to the diverse continent as a single entity and whose primary goal is the self-satisfaction that comes from perceived altruism. Does my experience and qualifications exclude me from this group? As a relatively experienced doctor with…
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Ceremony, departure and limbo
Last night, after our compulsory return to the capital so we can leave the country and renew our visa, myself and a colleague sit outside at an upscale cafe, browsing a menu full of salad with prices that would be fairly low in our home cities but are high enough that I forgot to bring enough cash with me, so used to having less than a dollar’s worth of small notes in my back pocket being enough for anything I would need to buy around and about the camp. The contrast is so cavernous it’s surreal. I feel like I am in a dystopian novel, walked through the gateway into…