Lauren Johnson
Barbara Bates Center, University of Pennsylvania
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Room 2019, Floor 2U, Claire Fagin Hall
Abstract: Historically, Western medical missionaries have played an important role in healthcare service and training of medical professionals in rural Africa. Yet their contributions have been given little recognition. Their work particularly has been significant because they were key actors in primary care after the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978, the first international statement that underlined the importance of primary health care. According to the World Health Organization, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, comprising 56% of maternal deaths globally. Many sources suggest that these high rates are caused by a shortage of skilled professionals and medical infrastructure, especially in rural areas. While the rates of maternal mortality have decreased in the sub-Saharan region since 1990, progress toward reducing this rate by 75% by 2015 (Millennium Development Goal 5) is far from achievement. To reach this goal, it is important to examine, from an historical standpoint, previous strategies that worked and did not work. This research presents an historical examination of early successful partnerships between international organizations, traditional African midwives, and American missionary sister nurses, physicians, and midwives who practiced within the biomedical tradition.