Syna Ouattara
About Syna Ouattara
I am a social anthropologist specializing in medical anthropology, global health, and human–animal–nature relations. Since completing my PhD at the University 91̽ in 2006, I have combined research and teaching with practical work for international organizations, governmental agencies, and civil society. My time at the WHO during the Ebola and COVID-19 pandemics in West and Central Africa provided valuable experience in social mobilization, risk communication, and community engagement, resulting in recommendations and training programs for healthcare professionals. In parallel, I have worked in Sweden on issues of migration, integration, and social cohesion, including developing strategies against Afrophobia, hate crimes, and discrimination in Malmö, as well as integration and information initiatives for the Västra Götaland County Administrative Board. My experience bridges academic knowledge with the ability to translate complex insights into concrete policy and practical solutions.
Research Areas My research interests cover medical, political, and development anthropology, with a focus on health, social relations, and culture in Africa and Sweden. In medical anthropology, I study local health practices and social science interventions during epidemics and pandemics. Within the study of occult medicine and witchcraft, I examine contemporary witchcraft accusations, violence, and legal processes in West Africa and their connections to modernity, migration, and state legal systems. I also explore human–animal–nature relations through anthropological perspectives on hunting, bushmeat, and zoonotic disease transmission, as well as migration, integration, and discrimination, with an emphasis on Afrophobia and hate crimes in Sweden. Additionally, I work on the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, particularly sacred forests and traditional hunting communities in West Africa, to protect cultural diversity in a globalized context.
Between 2000 and 2022, I conducted four research projects funded by SIDA/SAREC and the Swedish Research Council. The first project focused on spirituality, occult knowledge, and secret societies in Côte ’IǾ and Mali, resulting in the dissertation Deux sociétés secrètes dans l'espace public: l'association des Dozobele (chasseurs) et des Tcholobele (Poro) en milieu Sénoufo en Côte d'Ivoire et au Mali. Subsequent projects examined cultural and social dimensions of healing in West Africa, contemporary forms of witchcraft-related violence in relation to state legal systems, and the social and cultural dimensions of the Ebola pandemic in West Africa (2013–2016), with a focus on community resistance to public health interventions.
Current Research Project The ongoing project “Beyond Zoonotic Disease Transmission: Bushmeat, Ontology, and Human–Animal–Nature Relations,” funded by the Swedish Research Council and conducted in collaboration with Dr. Johan Wedel, investigates ideas and perceptions of risk and disease transmission in relation to animals and the environment, with particular focus on hunting, trade, preparation, and consumption of bushmeat. The project examines both socio-economic and socio-political dimensions, such as how relationships with animals, the environment, and bushmeat are shaped by social structures, as well as ontological perspectives on human–animal–nature relations. Fieldwork is conducted in West Africa in close collaboration with local researchers and communities.