Children As Caregivers : The Global Fight Against Tuberculosis and HIV in Zambia

Abstract

The Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies is dedicated to increasing our understanding of children and childhoods throughout the world, reflecting a perspective that highlights cultural dimensions of the human experience. The books in this series are intended for students, scholars, practitioners, and those who formulate policies that affect children's everyday lives and futures. A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.Copyright © 2017 by Jean Hunleth All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is "fair use" as defined by U.S. copyright law.∞ The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39. 48-1992. www.rutgersuniversitypress.org Contents ixChildren as Caregivers is based on research I carried out in Lusaka during a time that spanned nearly ten years (2005, 2006, 2007 to 2008, and 2014). However, the ideas for the research took root much earlier when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Eastern Province and then Central Province, Zambia (1999Zambia ( -2002. As a water sanitation volunteer in the village of Kapichila, near Lundazi, I was able to witness many things children accomplished for their families, and also the unacknowledged work that children put into global health projects. I thank Maxwell Banda and Anya Gondwe for opening their home to me and for putting their grandchildren in charge of introducing me to village life. Tikali, Regina, Suzgo, and Mattress taught me many lessons about children's creativity and the diversity of childhood experiences. I continue to carry these lessons throughout my career.I have incurred many debts since starting the project that led to this book. I am beyond grateful for my longtime mentor, Karen Tranberg Hansen, whose deep knowledge of Africanist scholarship and her decades of research in Lusaka provided the foundation for my own work. Helen Schwartzman introduced me to the anthropology of childhood and pushed me to think creatively and critically about research with children. I thank both Karen and Helen for their unwavering support and the countless hours they have spent mentoring me through the years. I have benefited from the mentorship of so many other people, particularly Edward Fischer, Bill Leonard, Rebecca Wurtz, Caroline Bledsoe, Virginia Bond, Cathy Zimmerman, Brad Stoner, and Aimee James, who have all encouraged me, in different ways, to weave together my interests in anthropology and public health.I have many people to thank in Zambia. My research affiliation with the Zambia AIDS Related Tuberculosis project (ZAMBART) proved vital, both when I was in Zambia and also back in the ...

Zambian Children’s Imaginal Caring: On Fantasy, Play, and Anticipation in an Epidemic

“…Scholars in sub‐Saharan Africa have used fantasy as an entry point into understanding the experience of large‐scale global processes, such as colonialism and neoliberal capitalism (White ; Comaroff and Comaroff ; Weiss ) and, more recently, epidemiological shifts and the rise of global health projects that permeate daily life (Livingston ; Brada , ). In my previous work, I have described the dominance of global imaginations of health and well‐being in George—from the imagery promulgated by a World Health Organization– promoted, donor‐backed, and nationally supported TB control regime (Hunleth ) and the rollout of no‐cost antiretrovirals for HIV (Hunleth ) to the anticipatory programming aimed at children affected by HIV (Hunleth ) and at universal primary school education (Hunleth et al ). While other researchers have examined the fantastical in sub‐Saharan Africa as populated by witches, vampires, and zombies, I turned in my previous writing to something far scarier, at least to the children I knew: the orphan.…”

“…While other researchers have examined the fantastical in sub‐Saharan Africa as populated by witches, vampires, and zombies, I turned in my previous writing to something far scarier, at least to the children I knew: the orphan. Orphan discourses, circulated by global health programs, had palpable effects on children, scripting for them a narrative resembling a fairy tale without the happy ending, where the death of a parental figure led first to exploitation, then to homelessness and the social death of the child (Hunleth ).…”

The gendered impact of Buruli ulcer on the household production of health and social support networks: Why decentralization favors women

“…A ninth lesson entails decisions made about which family member should serve as a patient caretaker when hospitalization is required. This is one of the first articles to draw attention to young children serving as patient caretakers in West Africa for both their siblings and their mothers [57,58]. Children are chosen to be caretakers for two reasons.…”

The catastrophic cost of tuberculosis: advancing research and solutions

“…As recommended by Erlinger et al, 3 linkage to broader survey opportunities would enable a longitudinal perspective for ascertaining whether impoverishment is transient or chronic and determining how TB shapes the life trajectory of affected households, including children. 5 Most importantly, discussions on impoverishment could facilitate action. In this context, Stracker et al acknowledge the role of social protection in addressing TB-related catastrophic costs.…”