Health and Illness among African immigrants in Brazil

Abstract

The article analyzes the health and illness of African immigrants in Fortaleza-CE. Based on ethnography, interviews and informal conver-sations, the illness was approached in two contexts: in the countries of origin in Africa and in Brazil. In African nations, corruption, lack of hos-pitals and clientelism are pointed out as barriers to accessing medical care, but they rely on traditional medicine and endogenous knowledge of family members for healing. In Brazil, Africans report economic difficulties due to the cost of living, purchasing medicines, performing clinical and laboratory tests. They experience racial discrimination and obstacles to accessing the Unified Health System (SUS). Away from their families, they suffer from emotional, psychological and clinical suffering – homesickness, sadness, depression, stress, etc. – linked to different forms of prejudice and discrim-ination, which they do not have the devices to cope with. They have to ‘make their own way’ to access the SUS or popular private clinics.