Making Universality A Reality: Reimagining Modern Medicine with the Integration of West African Immigrants in Paris, France

Abstract

Across the world, global northern countries are facing an increased migration of people from the global south. In this thesis, I seek to understand how the immigrant experience has impacted the healthcare integration of West African immigrants living in Paris, France. Through ethnographic research methods, the research demonstrates a hesitation of West African immigrants to fully embrace the Western healthcare model. Despite the promise of universal access to healthcare, many immigrants face barriers to care and choose to engage with healthcare practices from their native countries through their own social networks. Furthermore, at the intersection of race, the negative connotations surrounding Blackness positions West African immigrants and their children at the periphery of modern biomedicine. I discuss how their integration into the healthcare system challenges notions of modernity rooted in colonial legacies. This reveals a necessity to reimagine modern medicine to incorporate more perspectives and practices. As France promises universal healthcare to all people within its borders, modern biomedicine should strive to make this a reality by expanding models of care to reach more of the French population.