Siri Suh

“Into Women’s Hands” is a collaborative research project involving faculty and graduate students from Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo in Burkina Faso, and Brandeis University in the US. We conduct ethnographic research on the use and circulation of misoprostol in Burkina Faso and Senegal. At a time when misoprostol is widely recognized as a pharmaceutical approach to reducing maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, we ask: how does a life-saving medication end up in the hands of some consumers, patients, and health workers, but not others? We draw on the principle of reproductive justice to investigate structural inequalities in reproductive health care. We train, mentor, and supervise graduate students in collecting and analyzing ethnographic data. Research methods include interviews, observation in health facilities and pharmacies, and mystery client studies with in-person and virtual vendors. Through our collaborative approach, we aim to center African scholars and universities in the production of knowledge about reproduction in Africa. In this talk, I highlight the advantages, possibilities, and challenges of conducting collaborative research on reproductive health.

Almost all global maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to promoting facility-based births, global health experts have encouraged harm reduction interventions and medications such as the post-abortion care (PAC) model and misoprostol to reduce maternal mortality related to abortion complications and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Misoprostol can be administered by non-physicians, or by women themselves, in managing abortion complications and PPH and in terminating pregnancies. Drawing on ethnographic research in Burkina Faso and Senegal, I explore how models and discourses of harm reduction and self care are transforming clinical, professional, and technological landscapes of reproductive health in West Africa. While these approaches have increased access to life-saving care for some, they have also exacerbated reproductive health inequalities and constrained mid level providers’ capacity to provide care. In this talk, I call attention to the role of aid donors, NGOs, and pharmaceutical companies in the global governance of reproductive health, and reflect on possibilities for reproductive justice.