Activity Post 5


Throughout this course I have been discussing Reproductive Health Care Access in Kenya. I decided the theory to discuss with this was Critical Medical Anthropological Theory. Political and social determinants play critical roles in reproductive health care access for women in Kenya as they face a lot of negative stigma and political disadvantage as they are laws prohibiting certain family planning methods. As discussed in the lecture, there is something called structural violence. Structural violence is when social arrangements put individuals and populations in harm’s way. An example of a social arrangements that puts women in harm’s way when it involves reproductive health care access is Kenya’s strict abortion laws. Since women in Kenya do not have the right to recieve legal medical abortions, many women turn to unsafe abortions which in turn in more harmful. Unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal deaths in developing countries. In an article by structuralviolence.org, they discussed how structural violence manifests in obvious forms such as dying from preventable diseases, “One such study, in 2009, concluded that more than 60 million extra Americans would be alive — that is, 60 million Americans died prematurely — due to the shorter life expectancies visited upon those of us in the United States.” ( StructuralViolence.org ) The article also discusses how structural violence manifests in different ways in less developed countries. In Uganda structural violence is shown when tens of thousands of farmers are illegally dispossessed — their homes and plantations burned — by an international forestry company. Structural violence is a shows what economic and political choices can make such major consequences on people’s real lives. The main issue in Kenya with Reproductive Healthcare Access is the social determinants that hold back women. Structural Violence can play a huge role in Kenyan women’s lives. Many Kenyans face economic hardships, transportation issues, health care access, cultural issues, housing issues, etc. Also, many Kenyans have issues with government corruption. This can have major effects how they perceive care provided by the government and the ability to access that care. They are faced with many more challenges with structural violence than an Average American. These pressures can cause a ripple effect of people’s health. In Kenya, while maternal health care is given for free, there is still a negative stigma that prohibits women from accessing such services. As well as social determinants such access to transportation. Since there are not many options for rural women to travel to the city for health services, they may not have any choice but to avoid using the services. That is why I believe Critical Medical Anthropological Theory works so well for Reproductive Healthcare Access in Kenya. It can really explain and help come up with a solution to this ongoing problem for Kenyan women. The theory helps you better analyze this major public health problem. I believe it will help me explain and analyze Reproductive Healthcare Access in Kenya for the duration of this class.

“Structural Violence.” Structural Violence. Accessed August 3, 2019. http://www.structuralviolence.org/structural-violence/.

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