News footage of epidemics and disease in Africa is a familiar sight. Yet these outbreaks are often presented without reference to the preceding events and conditions that have triggered them.
In Mistra’s new book, Epidemics and the Health of African Nations, researchers and practitioners from within the continent explore its vulnerability to disease, and demonstrate that disease occurs commonly because of political and economic influences.
The contributing authors use case studies to extract lessons and challenge conventional frameworks about disease. The chapters explore the relationship between disease and political and socio-economic contexts. A key argument is that a well-functioning health system is at the core of a country’s capacity to provide quality healthcare to counter an epidemic.
Authors argue that it would be more productive to mobilise resources to build strong health systems across Africa than to mobilise international resources in a panicked response to an outbreak.
This volume brings African experts together to probe possible solutions to the continent’s heavy burden of disease. The recurring themes in this book and the insights extracted from individual case studies will be helpful in devising policy for the control of disease and the combatting of epidemics in Africa.
