Sara Compion

Tuberculosis Discourse in South Africa: Knowledge, Power and Ideology Sara Compion

This book examines how the current day tuberculosisdiscourse in South Africa is shaped by ideologicalfactors that have led to a dominant focus onbiomedical and HIV/AIDS issues. These dominant issueshave resulted in the undermining of previously heldperceptions surrounding the social causes oftuberculosis. The effect is an individualisation oftuberculosis and its removal from a social context. The book highlights how neo-liberal ideologies ofdevelopment and state spending have promoted abiomedically reductionist and seemingly "cost-effective" model for tuberculosis treatmentthat ignores the social context of the disease. Inapplying this theory to a South African context, itis shown that the state's only responsibility is toprovide medicinal intervention for tuberculosis. Theactual responsibility for the outcome of health care(i. e. health) is deferred to the individual. Asprivate organisations fill the welfare gaps, citizensare left disempowered by their limited ability tohold the state accountable. The result is anenvironment that disenfranchises the poor and defeatsthe purposes of health care, perpetuating the deadlycampaign of diseases like tuberculosis.