The Politics of Disease

I found the connection Wailoo made between sickle cell anemia and the political culture of the 1970's fascinating. Chapter six focuses on how the disease became "a crucial part of national health care politics and of the southern politics of racial realignment" (22). It seems at one level there were individuals truly concerned about the suffering of the African American population afflicted with the disease and, and on another, it appeared to be a political agenda line item utilized to gain voters. Or, maybe there were individuals floating somewhere in the middle. It was also interesting to see the statistics quoted with regard to funding allocated for certain disease research efforts. What became problematic was the shift of funds from one directive to another; who is qualified to make the call that says funding for sickle cell research should be drawn from, say, cancer research? The ramifications of this debate are quite serious. I think this brings to light contemporary issues of fundraising on a private level and research fund allocating within the federal government. The author is right on when he notes that in the 1970's, sickle cell anemia had to bear the burden of many political agendas. At some point during this time frame, the focus shifted from the actual disease and the patients striving to cope with it's affects, to a racial and political arena.