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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Between the State and Civil Society: Medical Discipline in Tanzania
Author:Harrington, John A.ISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:Journal of Modern African Studies
Volume:37
Issue:2
Period:June
Pages:207-239
Language:English
Geographic term:Tanzania
Subjects:medical history
health personnel
Politics and Government
Health and Nutrition
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/161846
Abstract:This article examines the status of the medical profession in Tanzania, in the context of political and economic developments since independence. It focuses on the work of the Medical Council of Tanganyika, the body of elite practitioners which controls entry to the profession and which disciplines doctors for breaches of medical ethics. The Council's recent disciplinary case load has been significantly influenced by the introduction of new forms of health care delivery, and by the need for the profession to maintain its position within the health care system in spite of these changes. The author first considers different sociological theories of professionalization. This is followed by a discussion of the historical origins and development of the medical profession in Tanzania, from the colonial era, through the first two decades of independence, to the most recent period of crisis and restructuring. The changing discursive strategies used by the profession to legitimate its existence and activities in Tanzania are analysed, and against this background the constitution, powers and recent case load of the Medical Council of Tanganyika are discussed. The author draws some conclusions from the study regarding the project of (re)introducing 'civil society' into African countries. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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