- Kelley Sams, M.P.H., Ph.D., is a Senior Associate at Development Gateway, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Unive... moreKelley Sams, M.P.H., Ph.D., is a Senior Associate at Development Gateway, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, and an Affiliated Researcher at the at the Institute of Research for Development (IRD) in Marseille, France. She was a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and Peace Corps volunteer in Niger. Kelley engages qualitative methods to study social responses to infectious disease and the circulation of social development initiatives in the U.S.A. and Sub-Saharan Africa. She also teaches courses in research methods, medical anthropology, and arts in health.edit
Vaccination is one of the most recognised strategies in public health for preventing the spread of epidemics, and the availability of a vaccine is often expected by health actors to be a 'game-changer'. However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus... more
Vaccination is one of the most recognised strategies in public health for preventing the spread of epidemics, and the availability of a vaccine is often expected by health actors to be a 'game-changer'. However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine in Senegal was not the magic bullet that the international community expected. A very low vaccination coverage rate (less than 10% by April 2023) was observed in this country, once considered a model in West Africa for its epidemic response. Beyond the population's alleged hesitancy to be vaccinated, was a lack of preparedness to blame? Previous analyses show that outbreak preparation limited to standard interventions is not sufficient in the face of the social, cultural, and political configurations of each epidemic context and that uncertainty limits response capacity. This paper examines the social life of the COVID-19 vaccine to identify the forms and contextual dimensions of uncertainty related to immunisation in Senegal. The authors explore how vaccination was implemented and compare experiences with the preparedness process, to offer insight on uncertainties. Using Stirling's theoretical model that defines various expressions of incertitude, the authors identify four nexuses at various stages of the social life of COVID-19 vaccine in Senegal: (1) material uncertainty related to vaccine availability, (2) ambiguity of the population about the purpose of vaccination and the risks of the disease, (3) uncertainty related to side effects, and (4) uncertainty about vaccination strategies shared by scientific and health authorities. These uncertainties were only partly considered in the preparedness process, for they are related to systemic structural dimensions and reflect the impact of global/regional powers on the local level. The findings of this research are relevant not only to support better communication around vaccines in Senegal but also more generally to the prevention of emerging epidemics shaped by human behaviours.
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Kelley Sams est anthropologue, spécialiste des maladies infectieuses et de leur traitement. Elle a travaillé en Afrique de l'Ouest et aux Comores sur la lutte contre le paludisme. Elle s’est particulièrement intéressée à la la... more
Kelley Sams est anthropologue, spécialiste des maladies infectieuses et de leur traitement. Elle a travaillé en Afrique de l'Ouest et aux Comores sur la lutte contre le paludisme. Elle s’est particulièrement intéressée à la la politique chinoise de distribution en masse des médicaments à la base d’artémisinine pour éliminer le paludisme aux Comores. Elle a été chercheure au Centre Norbert Elias dans le cadre d'un projet ANR La vie politique des marchandises (VIPOMAR). Elle travaille actuell..
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The goal of this study is to explore specialized and popular cultural models of trachoma, and the interaction between the trachoma elimination program and its target audience in one trachoma hyper-endemic intervention community. Eighty... more
The goal of this study is to explore specialized and popular cultural models of trachoma, and the interaction between the trachoma elimination program and its target audience in one trachoma hyper-endemic intervention community. Eighty four million people worldwide, mainly children, are infected with active bacterial trachoma. For some, this will lead to painful and progressive corneal opacity and eventual blindness. The disease is most commonly spread by person-to-person contact or by flies, and affects very specific populations living in resource-poor areas such as rural Niger, which has one of the highest prevalence rates worldwide. The World Health Organization formed an alliance that is working toward the goal of eliminating blinding trachoma globally by 2020 through a strategy that includes behavior change communication, drug distribution, and surgery. The elimination program has been at work in Niger since the late 1990’s. Trachoma prevalence in Niger showed a dramatic reduction during the beginning of the elimination program. However, disease prevalence has again increased and, at the time of this study, was nearing pre-intervention levels. While poverty is closely related to trachoma, the processes by which this economic state becomes translated into health impacts are complex, but rely on behaviors that are directly linked to disease transmission, prevention, and progression. From a social science perspective, these health behaviors can be studied by exploring the
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Fearnley, Lyle. Virulent zones: animal disease and global health at China's pandemic epicenter. 288 pp., illus., bibliogr. Durham, N.C.: Duke Univ. Press, 2020. £20.99 (paper)Keck, Frédéric. Avian reservoirs: virus hunters and birdwatchers in Chinese sentinel posts. x, 245 pp., illus., bibliogr. ...more
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HackCorruption—a groundbreaking project led by Accountability Lab and implemented in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise and DG—is a series of hackathons bringing people together to leverage emerging... more
HackCorruption—a groundbreaking project led by Accountability Lab and implemented in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise and DG—is a series of hackathons bringing people together to leverage emerging technology to co-create anti- corruption solutions. Unlike traditional hackathons, participants don’t need to be experts in digital technology in order to participate. DG provides technical assistance and mentorship to participants from a variety of social and professional backgrounds with a vested interest in fighting for better governance.
https://developmentgateway.org/blog/hackcorruption-leveraging-technology-building-community-to-fight-corruption/
https://developmentgateway.org/blog/hackcorruption-leveraging-technology-building-community-to-fight-corruption/
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In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency. Now that the world is in this new period of living with the coronavirus, it is an important time to gather knowledge gained from our... more
In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency. Now that the world is in this new period of living with the coronavirus, it is an important time to gather knowledge gained from our experiences. Over 50 researchers from 25 countries across six continents have come together to share the key lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the policies to mitigate it, and the impacts of these policies. Several resounding lessons emerged from across the globe that seemed to be at the root of many of the issues raised, including: resolving systemic issues; ensuring the most vulnerable are supported; increasing community involvement, and taking pandemic innovations forward for the future.
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IntroductionLockdown measures were introduced worldwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and several studies showed the positive impacts of these policies in places such as China and Europe. Many African governments also imposed... more
IntroductionLockdown measures were introduced worldwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and several studies showed the positive impacts of these policies in places such as China and Europe. Many African governments also imposed lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic. These lockdowns met with mixed reactions; some were positive, but others focused on concerns about the consequences of lockdowns.MethodsIn this article, we use social listening to examine social media narratives to investigate how people balanced concerns about preventing the spread of COVID-19 with other priorities. Analyzing social media conversations is one way of accessing different voices in real time, including those that often go unheard. As internet access grows and social media becomes more popular in Africa, it provides a different space for engagement, allowing people to connect with opinions outside of their own conceptual frameworks and disrupting hierarchies of how knowledge is shaped.ResultsThis ar...
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In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency. Now that the world is in this new period of living with the coronavirus, it is an important time to gather knowledge gained from our... more
In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency. Now that the world is in this new period of living with the coronavirus, it
is an important time to gather knowledge gained from our experiences. Over 50 researchers from 25 countries across six continents have come together to share the key lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the policies to mitigate it, and the impacts of these policies. Several resounding lessons emerged from across the globe that seemed to be at the root of many of the issues raised, including: resolving systemic issues; ensuring the most vulnerable are supported; increasing community involvement, and taking pandemic innovations forward for the future.
is an important time to gather knowledge gained from our experiences. Over 50 researchers from 25 countries across six continents have come together to share the key lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the policies to mitigate it, and the impacts of these policies. Several resounding lessons emerged from across the globe that seemed to be at the root of many of the issues raised, including: resolving systemic issues; ensuring the most vulnerable are supported; increasing community involvement, and taking pandemic innovations forward for the future.
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Introduction: Lockdown measures were introduced worldwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and several studies showed the positive impacts of these policies in places such as China and Europe. Many African governments also imposed... more
Introduction: Lockdown measures were introduced worldwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and several studies showed the positive impacts of these policies in places such as China and Europe. Many African governments also imposed lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic. These lockdowns met with mixed reactions; some were positive, but others focused on concerns about the consequences of lockdowns.
Methods: In this article, we use social listening to examine social media narratives to investigate how people balanced concerns about preventing the spread of COVID-19 with other priorities. Analyzing social media conversations is one way of accessing different voices in real time, including those that often go unheard. As internet access grows and social media becomes more popular in Africa, it provides a different space for engagement, allowing people to connect with opinions outside of their own conceptual frameworks and disrupting hierarchies of how knowledge is shaped.
Results: This article indicates which narratives were favored by different organizations, stakeholders, and the general public, and which of these narratives are most dominant in policy discourses. The range of narratives is found to be reflective of the blindness to inequality and social difference of much decision- making by policymakers.
Discussion: Thus, contrary to the “we are all in this together” narrative, diseases and public health responses to them clearly discriminate, accentuating long-standing structural inequalities locally, nationally, and globally, as well as interplaying with multiple, dynamic, and negotiated sources of marginalization. These and other insights from this article could play a useful role in understanding and interpreting how social media could be included in pandemic preparedness plans.
Methods: In this article, we use social listening to examine social media narratives to investigate how people balanced concerns about preventing the spread of COVID-19 with other priorities. Analyzing social media conversations is one way of accessing different voices in real time, including those that often go unheard. As internet access grows and social media becomes more popular in Africa, it provides a different space for engagement, allowing people to connect with opinions outside of their own conceptual frameworks and disrupting hierarchies of how knowledge is shaped.
Results: This article indicates which narratives were favored by different organizations, stakeholders, and the general public, and which of these narratives are most dominant in policy discourses. The range of narratives is found to be reflective of the blindness to inequality and social difference of much decision- making by policymakers.
Discussion: Thus, contrary to the “we are all in this together” narrative, diseases and public health responses to them clearly discriminate, accentuating long-standing structural inequalities locally, nationally, and globally, as well as interplaying with multiple, dynamic, and negotiated sources of marginalization. These and other insights from this article could play a useful role in understanding and interpreting how social media could be included in pandemic preparedness plans.
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Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-2-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and... more
Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-2-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and Heather Stuckey in American Journal of Health Promotion
Ces rencontres scientifiques se sont deroulees du 26 au 29 mars 2018 dans la ville de Ouidah au Benin. A travers ce colloque international, nous avons discute des multiples enjeux qui entourent aujourd’hui le medicament en Afrique,... more
Ces rencontres scientifiques se sont deroulees du 26 au 29 mars 2018 dans la ville de Ouidah au Benin. A travers ce colloque international, nous avons discute des multiples enjeux qui entourent aujourd’hui le medicament en Afrique, considerant notamment les marches qu’il suscite, les acteurs politiques et economiques qu’il mobilise, les instruments de regulation, de controle et de maitrise de la concurrence qu’il genere, les modalites de prise en charge sanitaire au centre desquelles il est place et finalement les modes de consommation dont il est l’objet de la part des individus, sans oublier l’inevitable question en Afrique de l’adaptation des medecines « traditionnelles » au modele marchand dans lequel il evolue. La regulation, dans son acception large de normes effectivement a l’œuvre, que celles-ci soient legislatives, biomedicales, techniques ou commerciales, apparait transversale a ces differentes questions et ont ete largement consideree.
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Fearnley, Lyle. Virulent zones: animal disease and global health at China's pandemic epicenter. 288 pp., illus., bibliogr. Durham, N.C.: Duke Univ. Press, 2020. £20.99 (paper)Keck, Frédéric. Avian reservoirs: virus hunters and birdwatchers in Chinese sentinel posts. x, 245 pp., illus., bibliogr. ...more
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The rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shows a diminishing trend globally while increasing in intensity of mortality, morbidity, and burden of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. The intertwined behavioral, demographic, and... more
The rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shows a diminishing trend globally while increasing in intensity of mortality, morbidity, and burden of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. The intertwined behavioral, demographic, and clinical determinants fueled the incidence of infections in Zambian women. This study aimed to determine the association between demographic, behavioral, and clinical determinants with HIV serostatus in Zambian women. With the conceptual framework of the World Health Organization’s Commission for Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) and the quantitative method of MANOVA, this study examined Zambian Demographic Health Survey data for Zambian women of two ages groups (adolescent and adult). The findings showed statistically significant results in the association between HIV serostatus and self-perceived HIV risk for both groups and in the association between education and HIV serostatus among women in both groups. However, there was no statistically signif...
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In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the addition of Disease X, a hypothetical infectious threat, to its blueprint list of priority diseases. In the construction of discourse that circulated following this announcement,... more
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the addition of Disease X, a hypothetical infectious threat, to its blueprint list of priority diseases. In the construction of discourse that circulated following this announcement, conceptions of Disease X intersected with representations of Africa. In our article, we share a broad strokes analysis of internet narratives about Disease X and Africa in the six months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (July–December 2019) and during its first six months (January–June 2020). Our analysis focuses on how the scientific concept of Disease X was applied by ‘non-experts’ to make meaning from risk, uncertainty, and response. These non-experts drew in parallel upon more general representations of power, fear, and danger. This research is particularly relevant at the time of writing, as online narratives about COVID-19 vaccination are shaping vaccine anxiety throughout the world by drawing upon similar conceptions of agency and in...
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Kelley Sams est anthropologue, spécialiste des maladies infectieuses et de leur traitement. Elle a travaillé en Afrique de l'Ouest et aux Comores sur la lutte contre le paludisme. Elle s’est particulièrement intéressée à la la... more
Kelley Sams est anthropologue, spécialiste des maladies infectieuses et de leur traitement. Elle a travaillé en Afrique de l'Ouest et aux Comores sur la lutte contre le paludisme. Elle s’est particulièrement intéressée à la la politique chinoise de distribution en masse des médicaments à la base d’artémisinine pour éliminer le paludisme aux Comores. Elle a été chercheure au Centre Norbert Elias dans le cadre d'un projet ANR La vie politique des marchandises (VIPOMAR). Elle travaille actuell..
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Organized institutional responses to infectious disease control confront and escalate the social disruption caused by outbreaks. Since the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, concern about the rapid spread of a disease across an... more
Organized institutional responses to infectious disease control confront and escalate the social disruption caused by outbreaks. Since the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, concern about the rapid spread of a disease across an interconnected world has grown. The concept of pandemic preparedness has become central in global health policy, and in March 2018, the World Health Organization announced Disease X as a potential threat. Drawing from a case study of Ebola in Guinea and online ethnography, this presentation examines the historical creation of this metaphor for an unknown future disease and its entry into the collective imagination.
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In the Comoros Union, a partnership with the Chinese government implemented a malaria elimination project from 2007-2015 using the strategy of free mass distribution of artemisinin-based malaria medication. Many transnational and local... more
In the Comoros Union, a partnership with the Chinese government implemented a malaria elimination project from 2007-2015 using the strategy of free mass distribution of artemisinin-based malaria medication. Many transnational and local actors criticized this program, while others lauded it for its success. At the end of the eight-year program, the disease was almost completely eliminated from the country, but experts doubt the sustainability of these results. Recent data shows that malaria incidence is currently increasing quickly on the island where the country’s capital is located.
Artemisinin-based malaria treatment changed the face of malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa and led to China’s first Nobel Prize in medicine in 2015. Developed as a result of Mao Zedong’s initiative to use Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat malaria in Asia, artemisinin-based treatment did not enter the global market until the early 21st century with the help of the European and North American pharmaceutical industry. The production, use, and regulation of artemisinin-based medications have provoked new controversies as well as social and political relationships. This paper uses the results of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in China, Geneva, and the Comoros Union to reflect upon some of the effects of the circulation of these medications and situate these effects within the broader context of Chinese global health and development work in sub-Saharan Africa.
Artemisinin-based malaria treatment changed the face of malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa and led to China’s first Nobel Prize in medicine in 2015. Developed as a result of Mao Zedong’s initiative to use Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat malaria in Asia, artemisinin-based treatment did not enter the global market until the early 21st century with the help of the European and North American pharmaceutical industry. The production, use, and regulation of artemisinin-based medications have provoked new controversies as well as social and political relationships. This paper uses the results of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in China, Geneva, and the Comoros Union to reflect upon some of the effects of the circulation of these medications and situate these effects within the broader context of Chinese global health and development work in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Review co-written with Kelley Sams of the movie; No country for Young GIrls, directed by Nabur Basu