The quest for treatment: the violated body of nodding syndrome in Northern Uganda

Nodding syndrome is an unexplained affliction that affects thousands of children in northern Uganda. It is characterised by episodes of repetitive dropping forward of the head and often accompanied by convulsions. Symptoms were first reported in Uganda around 1998, during two decades of violent conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army and Ugandan government. Violence and politics have been assimilated into local narratives on nodding syndrome and illness experiences are connected to the trauma of past conflict. This paper provides insight into how narratives on nodding syndrome are affected by the experience of conflict and how they in turn shape responses to illness. Attention is paid to the complex politics of illness and healing in the context of a pluralistic medical system