2nd International Medical Humanities Conference: “The Body: In Parts or As Whole”
Dates: 31 July – 1 August 2019
Location: Library Auditorium, College of Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Blantyre, Malawi
Programme of Events
Wednesday, 31 July
7:45 am – 8:30 am: Registration (Outdoor Khonde)
8:30 am – 8:45 am: Opening Prayer and Introductions from College of Medicine Staff in Library Auditorium
8:45 am – 9:15 am: Executive College of Medicine Welcome in Library Auditorium
9:15 am – 9:45 am: Discussion and Q&A in Library Auditorium ‘Inclusion, Access and Social Justice: The Rhizomic Evolution of a Field Across a Continent’ by Dr Nolwazi Mkhwanazi (University of Witwatersrand) and Dr Carla Tsampiras (University of Cape Town)
9:45 am – 10:10 am: Discussion and Q&A in Library Auditorium: ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward: Reflections on the state and fate of the Medical Humanities in Malawi’ by Dr Chisomo Kalinga (University of Edinburgh)
10:10 am – 10:15 am: Dr John Lwanda ‘Poetry Reading’ in Library Auditorium
10:15 am – 10:45 am: Tea Break
10:45 am – 11:45 pm: Panel Session #1
I. Representation and the Body in Library Auditorium (Chair: Dr Pearson Nkhoma)
1. Dave Namusanya (Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust)
The role of social relationships in the acceptability of Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS) among hospital-based child deaths in Blantyre, Malawi
2. Acquanda Standford (University of Washington)
The Diaspora’s Milk: Breastfeeding as an [Overshadowed] Phenomenon
II. Gender and Identity: Body and Mind in Lecture Room #1 (Chair: Dr Nolwazi Mkhwanazi)
1. Rachel Chimbwete Phiri (Chancellor College, University of Malawi)
Self and the ‘other’: Narratives of women in HIV/AIDS consultations in Malawi
2. Pearson Nkhoma (Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust)
Ambiguous agency: The conceptualization of HIV risk among young women selling sex
III. Sexuality and Reproductive Health in Lecture Room #2 (Chair: Dr Linda Mipando-Nyondo)
1. Dr Efua Prah (Stellenbosch University)
Affective Birth in South Africa
2. Marion Chirwa Kajombo (Malawi University of Science and Technology)
The impact of English and Chichewa in Gynaecological Consultations in Blantyre, Malawi
11:45 pm – 12:15 pm: Group Activity: Participatory Art Techniques in Library Auditorium Sharon Kalima (Art and Global Health Centre Africa)
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm: Science Café: The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at College of Medicine in Library Auditorium (Chair: Dr Lucinda Manda-Taylor)
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm: Lunch and Networking in Cafeteria
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Decolonising Health Care Panel: Voluntourism, Do-Gooders and White Saviours: Addressing history and legacies of racism in modern African healthcare in Library Auditorium(Chair: Chimwemwe Phiri )
Panel Members: Dr Chisomo Kalinga (University of Edinburgh, Dr Carla Tsampiras (University of Cape Town), Moses Kaufulu (political scientist/activist)
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Tea Break
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Panel Session #2
I. Mixed Group: 10 minute provocations in Library Auditorium (Chair: Mr Kingsley Kapito)
1. Dalitso Chiwayula, Shy Ali, Boniface Mbewe (Chipembere Community-based organisation) and Dr Chisomo Kalinga (University of Edinburgh)
Empowerment through Art and Action: A reflection on arts-based intervention project in Thyolo
2. Patrick Ziba (Chitipa District Hospital/Partners in Hope)
HIV/AIDS youth project in Chitipa: disclosure, empowerment and survival among young people living with HIV
3. Professor Megan Vaughan (University College London)
Weight: why we need a critical historical approach to obesity and overweight in Southern Africa
II. Cultures and Bodies in Lecture Room #1 (Chair: Sinethemba Makanya)
1. Dr Angel Dilip (Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania) on behalf of Cultures and Bodies project (University of Glasgow)
Using arts-based methods as enquiry for non-communicable disease prevention
2. Dr John Lwanda (NHS Lanarkshire, University of Glasgow) on behalf of Cultures and Bodies project (University of Glasgow)
How have arts-based approaches been used to promote health in Sub-Saharan Africa? A scoping review
III. Lived Experiences: The Plight of Persons with Albinism in Lecture Room #2 (Chair: William Zivenge)
1. Denis Mwiba (University of Livingstonia, Malawi) Gift Wasambo Kayira (West Virginia University)
Black Mzungu, Wealth, and Albino Killings in Malawi: Deconstructing Hostile Narratives
2. Tiwonge Carol Katemecha (Chancellor College, University of Malawi)
Passing for ‘Human’: Subtle Adjustments of acceptance for persons with albinism on social media
Thursday, 1 August
8:30 am – 9:00 am: Registration and arrivals
9:00 am – 10:00 am: Keynote Speaker Professor Robert Thornton (University of Witwatersrand)
10:00 am – 10:30 am: Tea Break
10:30 am – noon: Panel Session #3
I. Mental Health in Library Auditorium (Chair: Leticia Suwedi -Kapesa)
1. Bongani Khoswe (Art and Global Health Centre, Africa)
Beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness within the Zion Church in Malawi
2. Sinethemba Makanaya (University of Witwatersrand)
Ukugula Kwabantu: How Traditional Healers Construct Mental Health
3. Munatsi Shoko (University of KwaZulu Natal)
Stigma and discrimination as key determinants of mental health problems
among the LGBTIQ population in Zimbabwe.
II. Health and Futurism in Lecture room #1 (Chair: Dr Anna West)
1. William Zivenge (Great Zimbabwe University)
Modernization of African Indigenous Health Institution: A Case of Zimbabwe
2. Tendai Chiguware (University of Fort Hare)
Exploring new frontiers of medical research: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Medical Diagnosis
3. Rodger Phiri (Art and Global Health Centre Africa)
Can the application of local philosophies influence more equitable health service delivery?
III. Migration and Moving Bodies in Lecture Room #2(Chair: Dr Chisomo Kalinga)
1. Anusa Damion (University of Zimbabwe and University of the Free State)
Chibeura: Colonial Labour Migration and Medical Examinations in Southern Africa
2. Dr Barbara Mahamba (University of Zimbabwe)
Migration and maternal health in Harari township, Rhodesia, 1807-1970
3. Sasheenie Moody (Oxford University)
It’s like catching smoke: suggestions for recruiting vulnerable participants
Noon – 1:00 pm: Science Café: The Health Sciences at College of Medicine in Library Auditorium (Chair: Dr Linda Nyonda-Mipando)
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Lunch and Networking in Cafeteria
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Roundtable by in Library Auditorium (Chair: Professor Catherine Burns)
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Tea break
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Panel Session #4
I. The Body in an Environment/The Body in Society (Chair: Dr Deborah Nyirenda)
1. Yemi Adewoyin (University of Nigeria)
Climate Change and Demographic Dimensions of Children’s Health in Nigeria
2. Victor Ojakorotu & Bamidele Olajide (North West University, Mafikeng Campus, South Africa)
Gender, Climate Change and the Political Economy of Public Health Policy in Nigeria and South Africa
3. Charlotte Visagie (University of Johannesburg)
The deconstruction and construction of the gendered body and identity in a gender-segregated church
II. Bioethics and statistics (Chair: Professor Megan Vaughan)
1. Esther Odewale and Joseph Miyaki (Edo University, Nigeria)
Biomedical Ethics Versus Business Ethics in African Health Practices
2. George Lwanda and Dr John Lwanda (NHS Lanarkshire, University of Glasgow)
Economy, culture and health: the human statistics of those left behind.
3. Michael Muti Etter-Phoya (University of Edinburgh)
Situating the body back into the archives: Using tech to De-colonise the post colonial Malawian archive
III. African Literature and Medicine (Chair: Mzati Nkolokosa)
1. Damaino Kalinde (Domasi College of Education)
Beyond Matriarchal/Patriarchal Dominance: Towards Gender Equality Through Malawian Newspaper Cartoons
2. Casey Golomski (University of New Hampshire)
Darkwater tibongo: Praise Poetry and Environmental Catastrophe in the African-Indian Ocean World
3. Kingsley Kapito (Chancellor College, University of Malawi)
Staging the gaze: Moral enterprising in contemporary Malawian Popular Short AIDS fiction writing
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Closing Performances
I. John Lwanda – poetry reading
II. Sharon Kalima (Art and Global Health Centre, Zomba)
Make Art/ Stop AIDS (MASA) Squad performances
MASA: Youth uses art and participatory approaches to put Malawian youth in control of their own sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The project recently won a UN SDG Action Award for the transformative work it has accomplished. The squad would like to share some MASA:Youth performances such as song, poetry, short plays to give participants a sense of the power of their work.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Reception (Medical Humanities Exhibition Hall)