They have problems? We should educate them... or should we?

I remember having this discussion on one of the first days of class – Lala asked us if we thought (or what we thought) there is one greatest way to solve global health problems. Educate was something that I strongly advocated while admitting it is not everything. However, since writing about western take on FGM, I’ve begun to question the concept of education, or more precisely, what we educate people about.

Largely, we’ve talked about educating different countries and people with regards to health procedures or methods to avoid poor health outcomes. This is seen in a majority of the presentations that were given. In my presentation, it was safe drinking water to avoid the guinea worm. By educating the masses and providing them with the tools they need, guinea worm has nearly been eradicated. On issues of health resulting from diseases and infections, it is almost undeniably always a cornerstone of the solution.

However, I feel as though there has been more cases of “education” with regards to social issues. For instance, with FGM, as I mentioned in my first blog, we (the first world industrialized countries) find the act reprehensible. As such, as we (the first world industrialized countries) are the ones putting money, time, and effort into helping those (developing countries), we should educate them on how awful the practice of FGM is to the women. Aren’t we just telling them to live like us?

Health issues like guinea worm is something that nobody wants. If you asked the people who were suffering from it, they would surely tell you they did not want to be in pain and to suffer from the debilitating disease. However, if you asked those societies practicing FGM, would they tell you they didn’t want it done? Probably not. The dilemma is this: the fact that people don’t not want it done doesn’t make it acceptable; on the flip side, viewing it as unacceptable from the outside doesn’t make the practice wrong simply because they aren’t as technologically advanced as your society is.

This is a very difficult subject to grasp. For me, it means wrestling with what I believe is right and wrong and getting past my biases. I definitely view something as FGM reproachable, it blows my mind that something like this could be done. Then, I see my own society and its actions that are surely seen as reproachable (gay rights/minority rights). Hell, we as a society even view actions of our past as beyond comprehension (slavery & women’s rights, anyone?)

What is right? What is the right course of action when dealing with social issues such as FGM? Do we tell them to stop or educate them on what is “right” (eg what our societies perceive as right)? That could simply be a result of social differences; we shouldn’t be trying to change cultural and societal practices just because we don’t view them as right. So, should we tell them to do it with health in mind? Instead of doing FGM with a shard of glass, perhaps we should train their doctors and give them the necessary tools to do it correctly. But doesn’t that mean we inadvertently support the act? Should we do nothing?

I think these are all questions that aren’t being asked anymore. Where is the line with regards to social issues and educating developing countries on how to do things “right”? I think it’s important to understand how your own society influences what you perceive as right and wrong. Keeping this with you should allow you to view the world with significantly more understanding than perhaps Americans are generally viewed as having.