Story by David Akin, University of Michigan

On 16 February, three members of the Atoifi Health Research Group gave a talk about Atoifi research projects and related topics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor in the United States. David Akin and Chiefs Jackson Waneagea and Esau Kekeubata, who work on the Biodiversity Project funded by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and other Atoifi-based research and health service delivery initiatives, were invited to speak to a seminar sponsored by the Health Equity Scholars Program (HESP). HESP is focused on learning about and addressing health disparities in Southeast Michigan, but invited the Atoifi Research crew because its seminar series also addresses related topics from elsewhere. Anthropologist Akin began the presentation with an overview of religious rules in the mountains of Kwaio, and a brief history of how these have affected people’s access to health care in the past. Kekeubata then discussed how Atoifi’s relationship with mountain Kwaio communities has evolved, and how the hospital is now working to address long-term inequities in the delivery of health care to people there. Waneagea concluded by describing how mountain Kwaio people view these changes and the increased health services that Atoifi now provides them. A question and answer session followed, and many attendees later commented on the rousing success of the event.

For more information about HESP, please visit: https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/hesp/home

Photo (L-R): Chiefs Esau Kekeubata and Jackson Waneagea at the University of Michigan (photo supplied by David Akin)