Andrea Azizi Kifyasi
Lecturer and Researcher, Department of History, University of Dar es Salaam. Areas of research: Medical History, Medical Diplomacy, China-Africa Relations.
Location Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Activity
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@PeterBoniphace Dear Peter, thank you for your provoking thoughts. I do not have a list of countries that do not push for collaborations and recognition of African experts. But generally speaking, many African countries do not prioritize research work. To prove this, have a look at the funds allocated for research and publications in African universities. You...
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We can, therefore, trace the background of Global South country members through several organizations which brought them together. They include, Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, instituted in 1957, the Non-Aligned Movement of 1961, Group of 77 (G77), Southern Commission and others. In my view, to judge whether China is part of the Global South...
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@DeliaNutz Indeed, the question of whether China is part of the Global South or North is interesting. Allow me to use Julius Nyerere's (First chair of the Southern Commission and the first president of Tanzania) response to a similar question. I quote. "When I am asked ... what countries are in 'the South', or with precisely which countries the South...
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@RonjaTeschner Sure. A combo sounds great. However, stereotypes hinder cooperation between biomedical and traditional medicine practitioners. Experts of bio-medicines usually perceive traditional medicine as pseudoscience. A mistrust among experts, in my view, is a big challenge.
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@TanjaHammel True. The use of antiretrovirals in Tanzania, for instance, began in 2004, about 17 years after the first HIV/AIDS cases were announced in the country.
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@NoahAebi Sure. This is among the challenges of the South-South knowledge production and circulation that have also been characterized by asymmetries of power, as mentioned above by Tanja. Chinese intervention in HIV/AIDS research and treatment was empowered by faith in their TCM knowledge and technology superiority. Such weakness has been mentioned by Randal...
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@DeliaNutz Thanks for the good questions, and please receive my apologies for the late reply. It is true. By 1987 when China's TCM experts embarked on research and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, there were no HIV/AIDS patients in China. Official HIV/AIDS cases in China were announced in 2001. However, although TCM practitioners lacked experience in...
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The letter was sent to the Chinese embassy in Tanzania.
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The letter was found at Tanzania National Archive because it was copied to Tanzania's Ministry of Health. Yes, Bukoba and Tabora are the names of the region. Dr Lai was not a barefoot doctor. However, he also worked in rural areas. Chinese doctors in Tanzania spent half of their time working in rural areas.
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@PennyPerkin Thank you.
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@MarieWilson That is true. Reciprocal learning was uncertain. We may use the Chinese-funded research and treatment of HIV/AIDS project as an example where they only used TCM herbs trying to cure/treat the disease. Local researchers (experts on traditional Tanzanian medicine) were not given a chance to share/and or learn from TCM experts. This is among the...
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Another team worked with Tanzania's Institute of Traditional Medicine (ITM). The team comprised TCM practitioners from China. They helped the Institute and Tanzanian traditional medicine practitioners to identify efficacious medicinal herbs and the best means of harvesting, making, and using medicinal herbs. Stacey Langwick raised claims over the exports of...
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@DeliaNutz Thank you for your questions. Others do mention that medical doctors sent to Tanzania by the Chinese government were "barefoot doctors". However, archival and oral sources I collected from Tanzania and China show that the Shandong province dispatched well-trained medical doctors to Tanzania. Chinese doctors were supposed to submit their certificates...
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Thanks for sharing. After the Alma-Ata declaration of 1978, the WHO member countries endorsed the Health For All agenda, where Village Health Workers had to be established and promoted by all member countries, especially those from the Global South where village communities lacked health facilities. So, if the program was practised in Cyprus at the end of the...
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@XiaoMeng Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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@DeliaNutz Thanks for sharing. It depends on the nature of agreements reached between the country dispatching medical doctors (Cuba) and recipient countries (Brazil, Venezuela etc). However, if Cuban medical doctors had worked together with local medical workers in Brazil and Venezuela, there might have been some elements of reciprocal learning of the medical...
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Andrea Azizi Kifyasi replied to NK H
Thank you for bringing this question back. In my view, South-South knowledge exchange and Sino-Tanzanian collaborations have not attracted more scholarly attention because of scholars' bias/stereotypes/ignorance. Unlike the North-South knowledge exchange and the North assistance to the South, South-South collaborations are less covered even in national and...
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I second your thoughts. "More research is required on the comparative advantages of South/South as opposed to North/South knowledge exchange."
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Dear Marie Wilson, thanks for your thoughts. It is true, Chinese medical presence in TZ had good intentions. But the project faced several challenges which defeated its sustainability.
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@RaphaelJenny Dear Raphael, thanks for your good question. The National Archives Head Office manages the Zonal Records Centers. They normally keep regional records that are not necessarily required to be sent to the National Archive. Officers and other employees at the Records Centres are recruited - and subject to the National Archives head office.
