25.10.2024

Andrea Azizi Kifyasi (University of Dar es Salaam):“Angels of God(?)”: A history of China’s medical assistance in post-colonial Tanzania

Friday, November 22, 2024, 2-4pm, Seminarraum, China Centrum Tübingen (CCT), Hintere Grabenstr. 26, 72070 Tübingen

PUBLIC LECTURE / FREE ENTRANCE

China’s aid to independent African countries has a long history, starting from the mid-1950s to the present and touching all aspects. While scholars’ interests have dwelled on China’s economic and political assistance, “A History of China’s Medical Assistance in Post-Colonial Tanzania” brings a fresh perspective to this underexplored area. I critically examine the implications of the major Chinese medical aid in the development of Tanzania’s health sector under the discourse of South-South cooperation. I analyse how the funded projects contributed to nation-building agendas and promoted South-South medical knowledge production, exchanges, and self-sufficiency within Tanzania’s health sector. Generally, the findings show that despite some positive effects, China’s medical aid did not reliably promote the development of Tanzania’s health sector. The assistance provided was executed under the ideological motives of the South-South solidarity agenda, which promised to promote self-dependence on the part of the newly independent nations. Yet, its execution was hampered by several drawbacks, which affected its efficiency and sustainability.

Dr. Andrea Azizi Kifyasi is a Senior Lecturer and researcher at the Department of History, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He holds a BA in Education and an MA in History from the University of Dar es Salaam, an MA in Chinese Studies from Zhejiang University, China, and a PhD in History from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Currently, he is a Research Fellow at Kate Hamburger Research Centre, Global Dis:connect, Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU), Munich, Germany. Kifyasi’s main research area is China-Africa relations, specifically on China’s medical aid to post-colonial African countries. Other research areas include medical history and Cold War politics.