Protecting the Legitimacy of Medical Expertise

Abstract

PERSPECTIVE 393 Venkamma's Dowry n engl j med 388;5 nejm.org February 2, 2023 At least we stuck with community, we thought. The new hospital director paid a penalty to the government. He clashed with Venkamma, then fired her. Afterward, she went to the city. With her gone, we felt oddly lost. One dull monsoon afternoon, we decided to call her. The bravest among us asked, "What did you think would happen , Venkamma? That you'd get a medal?" We leaned forward to not miss her answer. As if our very idea of who we were, our choices, depended on her reply. She seemed unworried, distracted. She chuckled, startling us, and said to give our girls a kiss from her. Then she put down the phone, as if we were crank callers. The buzz filled the room. We sat there listening to it get louder and louder. Waiting for something important to finally happen to us. This documentary video discusses the epidemiology of malaria; strategies for prevention, including vector control and vaccines; and the pipeline of promising new drugs for the fight to eliminate malaria.