Paper short abstract:

Human African Trypanosomiasis, i.e. sleeping sickness, affects Angolans at least since the XIXth century and continue to do so in the present day. This presentation examines its prevalence and the traits of the health programs put forward to stamp out this problem since the dawn of the XXth century.

Paper long abstract:

Human African Trypanosomiasis, i.e. sleeping sickness, affects Angolans at least since the XIXth century and continue to do so in the present day. This ailment was the main colonial disease as well as the epitome of the neglected disease. This presentation examines the prevalence of this disease, from a ravaging epidemic to a neglected disease, and the traits of the health programs put forward to stamp out over the 100 years under scrutiny.

The nature of historical processes, such as colonialism and globalization, local responses and global agendas all played a key role in molding the nature of these health actions. While the mantra of effective occupation and good management of colonies was the corollary of the scramble of Africa carried out at the Berlin conference (1884-1885) by the imperial powers, shaped colonial medicine; the local response to these hyper-vertical programs, which entailed diagnosis and forced treatment and hospitalization, together with the emergence of new medical and anti-vector drugs and later on independence and the fading under the radar of HAT, helped to further shape these programs into the global health agenda.

Departing from historical, ethnographic, medical anthropology and public health perspectives, this presentation aims to carry out a biography of anti-HAT health actions, and in doing so, hope to highlight the factors active in molding these programs, the actors involved, local responses, as well as its results and failures.