Making Uncertainty: Tuberculosis, Substance Use, and Pathways to Health in South Africa

"This is an outstanding ethnography that makes important contributions to medical anthropology specifically in relation to infectious diseases, substance use, and anthropological studies of global health practices and interventions. The nuanced anthropological focus on the intersections of substance use and tuberculosis among marginalized and impoverished persons that Versfeld analyzes in relation to historical legacies of colonialism and Apartheid is both in-depth and accessible. Critical reading for medical anthropologists, global public health scholars, and those interested in health inequalities in Africa and the Global South."

Erin Koch, author of Free Market Tuberculosis: Managing Epidemics in Postsocialist Georgia

"South Africa has among the highest tuberculosis rates in the world, related to indoor residential crowding, occupational hazards like mining, and high background HIV prevalence. Drug resistance and active TB resurgence magnify the original problem, increasing costs of care and reducing survival. I recommend this important contribution for anyone seeking deeper insights into the healthcare and community challenges facing the syndemic of substance use and TB, often complicated by HIV co-infection. Only a multifaceted response is likely to succeed for a disease too often addressed with limited "vertical" programs."

Sten Vermund, the Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, and Dean of the Yale School of Public Health