Published on 21.07.2023 at 08:49 by Journal du Gabon
Sociologist Jacob Mbaihondoum gives reasons underlying this resurgence in his doctoral thesis which he has just defended at the University of Yaoundé 1.
Guinea worm does not leave Chad. Despite the strategies deployed in the country, the disease disappears and reappears. Statistics show that after 9 years without notification of human cases between 2001 and 2009, the disease reappeared in Chad in 2010. Cases and infections were notified in humans and animals in several villages. Hence the sociological questioning of the author “why, despite the existence of health policies and the dynamics of mobilized actors, dracunculiasis is still experiencing a remarkable upsurge in rural areas in Chad?” »
In response to this question, the young doctor proceeded with an analysis which extends over six chapters divided into three parts. These analyzes show that the health policies and dynamics of actors mobilized in the fight against dracunculiasis are limited to sporadic and dysfunctional interventions that do not promote real accessibility of treatment and control of the eradication of the disease. Further in detail, according to the sociologist, what promotes the regular return of the disease is a set of practices linked to negligence and carelessness which constitute the difficulty reducing the capacity of the program to act effectively.
He invokes the relaxation of epidemiological surveillance, the insufficiency of means of action, the demotivation of health personnel and logistical difficulties. For him, access to drinking water is a crucial problem for households in endemic areas. Good practices related to water, hygiene and sanitation are not observed among populations in endemic areas. Cultural practices hamper the fight against Guinea worm in rural Chad.
These different analyzes earned Jacob a very honorable mention. For this 34-year-old researcher, this is the culmination of several years of research begun following his master’s degree in rural sociology obtained in 2015 at the same university. A university institution that he joined after his degree in sociology obtained in 2013 at the University of N’Djamena in Chad.
