Globalizing Measles in 1960s West Africa

“Globalizing Measles in 1960s West Africa“

UNC Health Sciences Library, 5th Floor Conference Room (#527)

Is measles a single, universal disease, or many, highly localized pathologies? This is a question for historical investigation, not only into epidemiological trends but also into the politics and practices of measles research and prevention during the “vaccine era” – that is, from the end of the 1950s. I will describe in particular one of the first episodes of this history, during which West Africa was at the heart of transnational debates about the value of the new measles vaccines. Some of the first trials and mass uses of these vaccines happened in West African places, which had just acquired political independence and where measles was recently “discovered” to be a major cause of infant and child mortality. I will identify a few reasons for this, and reflect on the consequences not only for West African immunity, but also for the emergence of new ways of framing the value of African life, the severity and preventability of measles, and responsibility – at the family, state and international level – for vaccinating children.