An exploration of social determinants of health amongst internally displaced persons in northern Uganda

Social determinants of health describe the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age and their influence on health. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Armed conflict and forced displacement are important influences on the social determinants of health. There is limited evidence on the social determinants of health of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced from their homes due to armed conflict but remain within the borders of their country. The aim of this study was to explore the social determinants of overall physical and mental health of IDPs, including the response strategies used by IDPs to support their health needs. Northern Uganda was chosen as a case-study, and 21 face-to-face semi-structured interviews with IDPs were conducted in fifteen IDP camps between November and December 2006

Sticky technologies: Plumpy’nut ®

Inspired by de Laet and Mol’s classic article on the Zimbabwean Bush Pump and Peter Redfield’s revival of fluidity as a central characteristic of humanitarian design, this paper argues that many humanitarian technologies are characterized not so much by fluidity as by stickiness. Sticky technologies lie somewhere between fluid technologies and Latourian immutable mobiles: They work precisely because they are mobile and not overly adaptable, yet they retain some flexibility by reaching out to shape and be shaped by their users. The concept is introduced through a detailed study of Plumpy’nut®, a peanut paste for therapeutic feeding that is materially sticky – much firmer than a fluid, yet still mutable – as well as conceptually sticky. ‘Stickiness’ can have wide utility for thinking through technology and humanitarianism