Infusions of health: The popularity of vaccinations among Bissa in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) has been a worldwide success; about 80% of all infants are being vaccinated. A number of anthropological studies have discussed reasons behind the active demand for vaccinations and injections in general. One issue that has been discussed in many of these studies is to which extent injection techniques correspond to indigenous perceptions and practices of prevention and therapy. This paper explores relations and resonances between a local incision technique practised by a herbalist in the village of Kéru in Burkina Faso and the vaccination services provided by a rural health centre. The two health care services are compared as social situations and as medical practices. The paper is based on 10 months of fieldwork including interviews with patients and healers, case studies and participant observations. Results show that the technique of penetrating the skin in order to mix medicine directly into the blood fits well with local understandings of bodily processes. Furthermore, vaccination as a preventive measure where children's bodies are worked upon in order to infuse health into their bodies corresponds with other indigenous practices. The two kinds of vaccination practices might influence one another and the popularity of both kinds of vaccinations, it is argued, must be understood within the larger context of parents' concern with their children's health in the world of Kéru.

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