Mustafa ABDALLA

"Productive pathologies: professional patients and the commodification of disease in Egypt"

Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this project investigates the changing perception of disease among a segment of the Egyptian population, called“professional patients”. In response to increasing poverty, deteriorating living conditions and the shift to neo-liberal economic policies in Egypt, these patients commodify their diseases and establish them as a main source of income. In medical schools, the absence of opportunities for students to work with patients and to examine their bodies within a curricular setting, has led to the emergence of the professional patient who provides this service to students. To survive poverty, commodifying disease and selling knowledge is a growing phenomenon in medical establishments in Egypt. Large numbers of patients, especially the marginal and the poor, maintain their disease conditions and market knowledge about their condition. The phenomenon of the professional patient creates biosocial groupings of patients and brokers. Within these groups are found mutual support, organized activities and even assignment of tasks to different members. This project examines different levels of this emergent phenomenon: the medical school institution, the individual experience and management of disease, the dynamics and internal politics of professional patient groupings, and the community and family.