Des « petits privilèges » pour compenser de grandes inégalités : les effets de l’absence de familles auprès d’enfants béninois et togolais opérés du cœur en Suisse

This paper focuses on a medical transfer programme run by a child welfare NGO for Beninese and Togolese children suffering from congenital heart defects and travelling to Switzerland for surgery. It specifically examines one of the conditions of the programme, which requires children to travel alone...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carla Vaucher
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Association Anthropologie Médicale Appliquée au Développement et à la Santé 2024-11-01
Series:Anthropologie & Santé
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/anthropologiesante/14051
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Summary:This paper focuses on a medical transfer programme run by a child welfare NGO for Beninese and Togolese children suffering from congenital heart defects and travelling to Switzerland for surgery. It specifically examines one of the conditions of the programme, which requires children to travel alone, without any family members. The author describes the emotional and practical effects generated by the absence of parents on different groups of actors during the children’s hospitalisations and outpatient care: the children themselves, the caregivers, the volunteers, and the researcher. In particular, she highlights the tension between the “little privileges” and inequalities that mark the lives of these children during their hospitalisation. This specific configuration is an opportunity to highlight the importance of the place and work of parents in contemporary paediatric services through what is revealed by their absence. It also highlights the unintended consequences of certain international aid schemes.
ISSN:2111-5028