ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

A ‘non-neglected disease’: Tanzania and schistosomiasis (1961-1980).

• In Event: (Re)thinking Histories of Disease in the “Tropics” (I)

English Abstract

In 1948, the WHO recognized schistosomiasis as a tropical disease to be monitored separately, rather than included in the general group of parasitic diseases. Over the following decades, as part of the development projects for the so-called Third World, the Organization promoted and implemented a series of policies and programs to eradicate the disease. The approach ranged from health education in rural communities (e.g., the construction of latrines) to the application of molluscicides to kill the disease's intermediate host snails and, from 1970 onwards, prevention and cure therapies with praziquantel. The regions of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which in 1964 merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania, were among the most critical targets of the schistosomiasis campaigns.

After the 1960s, the disease increased in certain areas of Tanzania due to infrastructure development, including dams and irrigation systems, as well as the introduction of intensive farming. Although the distribution of the disease has shifted in recent decades, the country remains among the highest-prevalence countries for schistosomiasis. In this paper, I aim to offer a more nuanced narrative of schistosomiasis history in Tanzania in the period 1961-1980, as a non-neglected disease, intertwining the process of decolonization, interventions by economic and social development programs and policies, technical assistance from the WHO, and farming and livestock practices in the region.

Author

• Gisela Mateos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México