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Archipelagic genes: Medical travel as a creative response to limitations and remoteness in the Maldives
Author(s) -
Knoll EvaMaria
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/apv.12157
Subject(s) - archipelagic state , geography , biology , fishery
Medical travel has become a self‐evident and intrinsic part of the medical landscape in the Republic of Maldives. This article raises the question of how exactly this has emerged as part of today's reality. The analysis describes the unfolding of a pronounced Maldivian medical travel culture by focusing on a particularly pressing health issue. The population of the Maldives has to face the world's highest prevalence of beta‐thalassaemia, a genetic disorder affecting the body's ability to create red blood cells. The country's 300:1 sea to land ratio, however, with its small population of 340 000 scattered over 200 islands is a challenging context for the curative and preventive measures in thalassaemia governance. The article follows the trail of thalassaemia‐related intra‐archipelagic and extra‐archipelagic medical travel of patients and clients requesting a blood transfusion, iron monitoring, bone marrow transplantation and prenatal diagnostic services. It discusses medical travel organised as a biosocial group activity, financed by insurance and religious bodies while interacting with the migration of health professionals.