Partners or contractors? The relationship between official agencies and NGOs; Peru

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Comparison of mortality of wild and released reared 0-group turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, on a exposed beach and a study of the population dynamics and ecology of the natural population

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On the front line of primary health care: the profile of community health workers in rural Quechua communities in Peru.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of community health workers--health promoters, traditional birth attendants and traditional healers--in rural Quechua communities from Ayacucho, Peru. METHODS: Basic quantitative and qualitative information was gathered as part of a community health project implemented between 1997 and 2002 in 40 Andean communities with information from questionnaires, personal interviews and group discussions. RESULTS: The majority of current community health workers are men with limited education who are primarily Quechua speakers undertaking their work on a voluntary basis. Health promoters are mostly young, male, high school graduates. There exists a high drop-out rate among these workers. In contrast, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants possess an almost diametrically opposite profile in terms of age, education and drop-out rates, though males still predominate. At the community level the health promoters are the most visible community health workers. CONCLUSION: It is very important to consider and to be aware of the profile of community health workers in order to provide appropriate alternatives when working with these groups as well as with the indigenous population, particularly in terms of culture, language and gender issues

The Good, the Ugly and the Dirty Harry’s of Conservation: Rethinking the Anthropology of Conservation NGOs

For the past decade, narrative portrayals of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) growing big, 'ugly', and business-minded have become common in both social science and public discourse. At a time when both engagement within NGOs as well as critical analysis from the outside has blossomed, how are the social sciences and anthropology in particular responding? This article suggests that a set of meta-narratives characterise much of the literature analysing conservation NGOs. Such narratives respectively position NGOs as doing good, turning ugly or acting pragmatically through what I label 'Dirty Harry' characteristics. While the critique of conservation NGOs offers a much needed 'reality check', it is time to revisit dichotomies of the 'good' past and the ugly present. The article reviews trends in the literature and offers a case study from the Peruvian Amazon. The final synthesis emphasises the need for a less essentialist perspective tracing heterogeneity and change of NGO activity over time