Globalisation, universities and the future of occupational therapy: Dispatches for the Majority World

Abstract

A scrawny, mangy dog chews steadily on a broken toy,the slimy remnant of a cheap plastic doll. It pauses and pants, oppressed by the heat, then gets up and sniffs the small wooden cross on the grave. The doll, last homage to the dead child, now lies in the dust. The dog squats by the cross, relieves itself and strolls towards some shade. By my side, in this makeshift graveyard overflowing with corpses, the young North American health officer stands silent. A year ago, despite strong local protest, he lobbied long and hard to have money earmarked for microcredit,sanitary infrastructures and social development moved into his medical budget. He needed some sophisticated diagnostic tool for a non-fatal parasitic infection, and won. Using his influence and status asa doctor, it was child’s play to sway the committee.