Decolonizing International Health. The Activities of the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI) in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire, 1943-1995

The role of Western science and biomedicine in Africa came under closer scrutiny in the fast few decades. Most of the efforts in this field focused on the role of French and British colonial science and its impact on the broader colonial project. In the period after WWII – particularly in Switzerland – only a few historical analyses can be found. Therefore, the project examines the history of the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI) in Africa within the wider context of political, economic and social changes. The comparison of two research laboratories in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire and its related institutions are in the center of the analysis. In 1951, the “Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques” (CSRS) was founded in Adiopodoumé (Côte d’Ivoire) and was thus the STI’s first scientific outpost. Six years later, the “Swiss Tropical Institute Field Laboratory” (STIFL) was established in part of St. Francis Hospital in rural Ifakara/Tanzania. The project compares those scientific institutions and fosters research and networking activities in those two countries. Built on a mutual interest in the investigation on health issues, the aim of the project is to deepen the collaboration between the Universities of Basel, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Cocody (Côte d’Ivoire) in the historical field of science and medicine.

Field of activities:

a) Identify archives and sources – Since written sources are one of the most important elements in investigating the history of health and health systems in Africa, one of the main objectives will be the identification and analysis of those sources in various archives. The National Archives of Tanzania (TNA) and Côte d’Ivoire will be considered the starting point for such an endeavor. Furthermore, the documentation of institutions like the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS) and private documentation will be located and scrutinized. More importantly, the value of those written historical evidences should be discussed with the members of the history department of the Universities of Dar es Salaam and Cocody. In so doing, new ways of how to approach the history of health in Africa will come to the fore.

b) Oral history and expert interviews – The fact that most of the people that shaped the history of the STI in Africa are still alive can be considered as one of the main advantages of the dissertation project. The history of the STI has an “African side” consisting not only of members for the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and scientists of the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques but also of laboratory assistants, village health workers and students trained by the STI in medical issues. Therefore, it will be important to explore their different perspective on the history of the STI, to conduct various interviews with scientific experts and laboratory assistants alike and to establish and oral history network for future research.

c) Strengthening the ties with researchers from Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire – Historians from the university of Dar es Salaam (Prof. Mapunda/Prof. Kaijage) and Cocody (Côte d’Ivoire) have long been researching on the history of science in Africa. The aim of this research stay will therefore be to drew on this mutual interest in the history of health and science and to share the findings in the context of a research seminar at the University of Dar es Salaam/Cocody. This exchange is of paramount importance not only to mutually investigate new historical approaches but also to provide a basis for the establishment of a firm Swiss-African network of communication for future research.

 

Partners:
Prof. Patrick Harries
Historisches Seminar der Universität Basel
Hirschgässlein 21
CH-4051 Basel
Tel. 0041 (0)61 295 96 64
Patrick.harries@unibas.ch

Lic.phil Lukas Meier
Historisches Seminar der Universität Basel
Zentrum für Afrikastudien Basel
Hirschgässlein 21
CH-4051 Basel
Lukas.Meier@unibas.ch

Prof. Bertram B.B. Mapunda
Department of History
(Incorporating the Archaeology Unit)
University of Dar es Salaam
P.O.Box, 35050, Dar es Salaam
TANZANIA
bbbmapu@udsm.ac.tz

Prof. Guéladio Cissé
Directeur Général du CSRS
Km 17, Route de Dabou, Adiopodoumé
B.P 1303
Abidjan, 01
Tel:(+225) 23 47 27 92 / 23 47 28 27
Gueladio.cisse@csrs.ci