"First and foremost the evangelist"? Mission and government priorities for the treatment of leprosy in Uganda, 1927-48

Bibliographic Data

ID2182286
AuthorsKathleen Vongsathorn (University College London, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume6
Issue3
Pages544-560
Publication date2012-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Eastern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-1055 • E-ISSN: 1753-1063
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17531055.2012.696906
PMID24949084
PMCIDPMC4060234
OpenAlexW2035595050
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited17

Early historiography on medicine in British colonial Africa suggests that colonial government and missionary medicine occupied two relatively distinct spheres, and that government officials viewed medical missionaries with suspicion and distrust. Contrary to this paradigm, this article suggests that missionaries and colonial government officials collaborated extensively and amicably in the treatment of leprosy in Uganda. Mission, medical, and government correspondence and reports are drawn upon in order to demonstrate that the suspicion and tension that characterised so many other interactions between British colonial government officials and missionaries was largely absent in the treatment of leprosy in Uganda. The mutual social and cultural priorities of missionaries and government administrators led to a system of isolated, in-patient leprosy care that was limited in scope and reflective not of a goal for the public health of Uganda, but rather a vision for the future of Uganda as a "civilised" and Christian country

Colonialism · Distrust · Economic growth · Economics · Government (linguistics · Historiography · Leprosy · Political science · Public health · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture studies · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Public Administration

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