Update by: Ellen Sykes
Congratulations to Didacus Namanya, Shuaib Lwasa, and members of the IHACC Research Team for their article, “Malaria Illness and Accessing Healthcare in an African Indigenous Population: A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experiences of Uganda’s Batwa in Kanungu District”, published in the Journal of Biosciences and Medicines in May 2023.
This article details the lived experiences of the Batwa Indigenous peoples of Uganda with respect to malaria and access to healthcare systems. This work is essential for understanding, appreciating and supporting Indigenous populations in Uganda. Preventative measures are critical in controlling malarial infections and the Batwa know its causes and risk factors. These risk factors include not sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and living near bodies of water. These lived experiences show that the Batwa detect malaria symptoms, use herbs as a first line of treatment, buy medicines from drug shops and receive treatment from village health teams. The understanding of Batwa lived experiences is critical to development of policy and interventions that will best support their communities.
Please access this publication here.