[Preparing for epidemics. A strategy for strengthening social science skills in Africa]. / Se préparer face aux épidémies Une stratégie de renforcement des compétences en sciences sociales en Afrique.

The Covid pandemic was a reminder of the need to be prepared for epidemics and pandemics and to take into account their socio-political dimensions by developing socioanthropological and interdisciplinary approaches. In the post-crisis era, the challenge is one of operationality. How can these dimensions be made more visible? How can we develop analyses that can help to humanize institutional responses, make inequalities visible to limit them during the crisis, reveal structural determinants of transmission, and define interventions that are scientifically sound, ethically just and respectful of diversity?Three strategies are relevant to meet these challenges: (1) more social scientists in Frenchspeaking Africa must get expertise on epidemics to investigate associated issues before, during and after epidemic crisis; (2) public health professionals, health and social workers must get informed about social, historical, economic and political aspects of epidemics that shape risk, care and control; (3) collaborations between researchers and those involved in responding to epidemics on the basis of shared knowledge must develop.This article presents a capacity-building initiative developed in French-speaking West Africa by the Anthropology of Emerging Epidemics Network (RAAE), in conjunction with other networks (Sonar-Global) and institutions (CRCF, IRD). It describes and analyzes a program that combines a working method, a scientific content and teaching tools. This program benefited from previous training experiences and gathered expertise from about 25 social scientists, mainly medical anthropologists, who have worked on various epidemics and pandemics such as AIDS, Ebola, plague, Covid and dengue in West Africa and beyond. The process to develop the course was based on workshops followed by redaction periods, then testings for content and tools during training sessions.The course focuses on two audiences: social science researchers (with a Master degree level and above) and social and health workers (public health, community health, NGOs, social workers). For the former, the course aims at reinforcing theoretical and methodological skills through the presentation of issues, key concepts, selected theoretical developments, themes and bibliographical references. For the latter, the course is based on modules about operational issues that can be taken separately, to better adapt the content of trainings to local teams' needs. For both, a glossary includes 100 definitions of public health, medical and social science vocabulary, relevant to epidemics. The content in terms of skills to be acquired (knowledge, know-how) is presented briefly in the article. Both the scientific content and learning methods and tools are presented in a manual (Desclaux et al., Anthropologie appliquée aux épidémies émergentes, 2022 [5]) as well as on Sonar-Global (English) and RAEE (French) websites (www.sonar-global.eu, www.raee.fr).The knowledge to be imparted is organized into 13 modules: introduction; the framework for responding to epidemics; emergence and One Health; antimicrobial resistance; infectious risk (inequalities, stigmatization and prevention); knowledge (circulation and interpretation); health services (places of risk and care); public health measures (lockdown and distancing); experiences (suffering of the sick and mobilization); death (meaning and rituals); vaccination (innovation, equity and hesitation); epidemic cycles (preparation, response and recovery); challenges, methods, ethics and governance; and conclusion.The first training courses held in Senegal and Burkina Faso for university researchers and young scholars from Africa and France were positively evaluated by the participants. They report that they have acquired knowledge in epidemic social science, but also in public health, which has given them the necessary basis for communicating and developing collaborations (in research and intervention) with social and health actors. The model could be duplicated with adaptation for new training sessions organized by other institutions, for which a manual is available.

Community health workers' involvement in mother-child care during the 1st year after birth, in Kaya health district, Burkina Faso: A contribution analysis.

Introduction: Maternal and infant morbidity and mortality remain high in sub-Saharan Africa. However, actions to strengthen postpartum care are still weak and mainly limited to health facilities (HFs). In Kaya health district, Burkina Faso, community health workers (CHWs) were involved in mother and child care during the 1st year postpartum through home visits, outreach sessions and accompanying mothers to health facilities. The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of CHWs to postpartum women's attendance at the health facilities. Methods: We conducted an effect assessment using Mayne and Lemire's contribution analysis framework. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through project documents review and individual semi-structured interviews with key-informants. Results: All the participants interviewed acknowledged that the number of women, who came to postpartum care, had increased since the implementation of the project activities. Postpartum consultation rates within the 1st week postpartum increased from 29% in 2011 to 80% in 2015 and from 19 to 50% within 6 weeks. Others interventions such as Performance based financing, Save The Children nutritional project and the health services component of Missed Opportunities in Mother and Infant Health (MOMI) were the alternative explanations. Conclusions: CHWs involvement in women care contributed to improve their adherence to postpartum consultations in Kaya health district.

Comment prendre le pas sur le coronavirus dans un pays en développement: questions et actions au Burkina Faso.

Le monde entier est touché par un bouleversement sans précédent, crée par un virus incontrôlable et qui a pris le pas sur les théories scientifiques les plus élaborées. Les grandes puissances peinent à empêcher l'hécatombe dans les effectifs de leurs citoyens infectés, en dépit de toutes les avancées scientifiques et technologiques. Les pays à ressources limitées et dans lesquels vivent des populations parmi les plus vulnérables apparaissent comme les cibles sur lesquelles le virus est susceptible de faire le maximum de dégâts. Cette note discute des approches stratégiques, propose des mesures politiques et suggère des recommandations. La capacité de dépistage/diagnostic, les mesures de protection et d'assainissement, la communication et l'implication de la communauté seraient des priorités de riposte.

Gender asymmetry in healthcare-facility attendance of people living with HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso.

Anthropological research in Burkina Faso indicates that more HIV-positive women than HIV-positive men are attending care facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) and accessing antiretroviral medicine. This article, situated in the field of study of interactions between gender and AIDS, offers a description of this asymmetry and an anthropological analysis of the socio-cultural determinants, through analysis of data from ethnographic research among PLWH and health actors. Examining social representations of femininity and masculinity in Burkinabe society and the organisation of the healthcare system in connection with gender shed light on the decision-making processes of both sexes around therapeutic choices and the itinerary of care. On the one hand, the social values attached to femininity, maternity and the status of wife create conditions for women that favour their attendance at care facilities for PLWH and encourage a widespread practice where wives take the place of their husbands in healthcare queues. Moreover, health policies and the effects of women's empowerment within the healthcare system strengthen women's access to health services. On the other hand, representations of masculinity are fully implicated in the cultural construction of men's reluctance to attend care facilities for PLWH. The values associated with this masculinity cause men to run great health, economic and social risks, not only for themselves, but also for their wives and children. By better understanding the interaction between gender, the experience of HIV and the institutional organisation of healthcare, we can identify ways to reduce men's reluctance to attend care facilities for PLWH and improve both prevention and treatment-oriented programmes.

[From economic difficulties to social suffering of people living with HIV in Burkina Faso]. / Des difficultés économiques à la souffrance sociale des personnes vivant avec le VIH au Burkina Faso.

A qualitative study conducted in 2006 shows that many people in Burkina Faso, living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART), have difficulties in meeting the expenses related to care. This anthropological analysis considers their perceptions, the causes and the social impact of these economic problems. This research is based on semi-structured interviews with 35 people living with HIV (PLWHIV) infection, contacted through HIV care programs in Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouahigouya. After recording, transcribing and indexing the interviews, we analysed them. Even when they did not have to pay for treatment, most of the subjects faced economic problems dealing with follow-up care and monitoring, transportation, and other expenses, and these problems occur when PLWHIV have already faced the long, complex and expensive therapeutic itinerary before the test that diagnosed HIV infection. The new diet required by the treatment is also mentioned. Moreover, work problems often due to the disease (low output at work, inability to work, job loss) have already decreased patients' income by the time they get treatment. It is not easy for them to return to the level of resources they had before their disease, even if they can find a job. This financial exhaustion frequently leads to the exclusion of PLWHIV from their former solidarity networks, mostly because they can no longer participate in collective contributions or return what they were given when they were totally dependent. The analysis of these conversations shows the relevance of the concept of "social suffering" in describing the social effects of the economic problems that face many PLWHIV on ART, even when treatment is subsidized.