Here to Heal? The Effect of Colonial Rule on Disease and Health Care in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire: ca. 1900-1955

Africa is the region of the world with the most critical health issues. The continent’s high disease burden is caused by a variety of endemic and epidemic diseases and has affected African populations for centuries. However, the African disease burden changed profoundly with the onset of European colonization. New diseases were introduced from Europe, the mobility of population groups increased across the continent leading to a more widespread transmission of diseases, and colonial policies introduced new, and changed pre-existing, medical practices.

In my PhD thesis, I examined the development of British and French colonial health care provisions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire during the first half of the twentieth century. To this end, I gathered new information from colonial reports to be used in qualitative and quantitative analyses. By mapping and comparing the development of colonial health care expenditures, facilities, personnel and patients, my PhD thesis shows that even two countries as similar as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire experienced different historical trajectories in colonial health care provisions. I also find that the geographical distribution of colonial health care facilities during this period can be explained by factors such as economic and administrative motives, the disease environment, and population density. Finally, using new data on official morbidity figures, I argue that British and French colonial policymakers’ responses to diseases were influenced by factors such as the impact of the disease on the European population, advances in medical knowledge, and the number of afflicted persons.