Global Health in the news

Honderden belangstellenden zagen afgelopen zondag de spraakmakende documentaires over Jaha's strijd tegen vrouwenbesnijdenis in the Gambia, het werk van de 'rebelse' Zweedse chirurg Erik Erichson in Ethiopie, en de balengenloze inzet van gezondheidswerkers in een kliniek voor ongedocumenteerden in de Verenigde Staten. Sander Voormolen, journalist van de NRC was erbij in Utrecht, lees zijn recensie en het interview met Erik Erichson in de NRC van 12 december 2018. 

About the films: 

Jaha’s Promise is a documentary about the life and activism of Jaha Dukureh. Jaha returned to Gambia to advocate for ending female genital mutilation (FGM), a harmful tradition that she herself and 200 million young girls and women have undergone globally. In Maastricht we discussed about the impact of FGM on women, and what can be done to prevent this practice with Amref’s anti-FGM campaigner in the Netherlands, writer and journalist Babah Tarawally.  

The Rebel Surgeon placed the lens on the reality in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the severe shortage of qualified health workers. Tired of the bureaucracy, the long waiting lists and the red tape in his own country Erik Erichson, a Swedish orthopaedic surgeon, flies to Ethiopia to make himself useful in a region where he believes he can make a difference. Gandini’s film takes a closer look at this unusual doctor who is forced to operate using what is at hand, like a cheap power drill from the local supermarket, hose clamps, bicycle spokes and fishing line instead of suture thread. “We can learn a lot from this culture”, says Erik Erichsen indicating that “the spiritual misery in Sweden is bigger than the material misery in Ethiopia”. In Utrecht the audience debated with Erik Erichson, and enjoyed the outcome of his new career as a jazz musican. 

Clínica de Migrantestakes was filmed in a Latino community in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We follow the work of volunteers in Puentes de Salud, a volunteer-run network of clinics providing preventive care to people who would otherwise fall through the cracks. The film is a compassionate portrait, giving a face to the millions of underserved and undocumented immigrants who exist in the margin of society. But also to the heroic doctors and nurses who work for free to ensure them access to proper health care.