"For someone who's rich, it's not a problem". Insights from Tanzania on diabetes health-seeking and medical pluralism among Dar es Salaam's urban poor

The prevalence of chronic non-communicable disease, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is rising worldwide. In Africa, T2DM is primarily affecting those living in urban areas and increasingly affecting the poor. Diabetes management among urban poor is an area of research that has received little attention. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Dar es Salam, the causes and conditions for diabetes management in Tanzania have been examined. In this paper, we focus on the structural context of diabetes services in Tanzania; the current status of biomedical and ethnomedical health care; and health-seeking among people with T2DM. We demonstrate that although Tanzania is actively developing its diabetes services, many people with diabetes and low socioeconomic status are unable to engage continuously in treatment. There are many challenges to be addressed to support people accessing diabetes health care services and improve diabetes management

“A gente tá vivendo uma vida sem paz”: Experiências dos primeiros 6 meses de quarentena do covid-19 para mulheres da periferia de Salvador

This article examines the experiences and concerns of families living on the outskirts of Salvador during the first 6 months of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was part of ongoing anthropological research initiated in 2012 among black women and their families and draws mainly on interviews conducted in August 2020. The impact of the quarantine was evident in their daily lives that was marked by anxiety, insecurity and fear of the near future. Financial insecurity was also exacerbated by the pandemic with the majority of the women losing their livelihood or having their livelihoods significantly reduced while their unpaid care work at home increased. They depended on financial aid from the state and various means of credit, acutely aware that the financial aid was only a temporary measure. With the heightened levels of uncertainty about the present and the future, women feared abject poverty more than the coronavirus itself and other epidemics that were causing severe illness and distress in Salvador’s low-income neighbourhoods. Keywords: Covid-19. Daily life during quarantine. Periphery. Inequality. Salvador, BA.Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que buscou entender como moradoras de uma periferia de Salvador, marcada pela pobreza urbana, lidaram com a vida em quarentena durante os primeiros seis meses da pandemia da covid-19. Baseada numa pesquisa antropológica conduzida desde 2012 entre mulheres negras, mães de família, elas foram entrevistadas no mês de agosto de 2020. A partir dos dados coletados, ficou evidente que as condições de vida e moradia tornaram a experiência da quarentena ainda mais difícil para essas mulheres e suas famílias. Todas tiveram seu meio de sustento afetado, o que, para a maioria delas, transitava entre trabalhos informais e subempregos, e consequentemente passaram a depender de auxílios financeiros e de outras ordens, provenientes dos governos. Sobrecarga de trabalhos domésticos, estresse, ansiedade, insegurança e medo de um futuro próximo quando o auxílio financeiro acabasse marcaram a vida dessas pessoas, que ficou ainda mais insegura do que antes. Mais que medo do coronavírus em si, as mulheres temiam a pobreza extrema e as outras epidemias que estavam impactando a vida na periferia de Salvador.