Peace through Health on the Ground:An Ethnographic Peace Research (EPR) Study of Health Workers as Peacebuilders in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Uganda

This thesis builds on the theories of Peace through Health (PtH) to explore the roles and contributions of healthcare workers (HCWs) as peacebuilders between and within host and refugee communities of Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Uganda.

The methodology employed is that of ethnographic peace research (EPR) and the key theoretical lenses are those of hybrid peacebuilding and everyday peace. EPR is characterised as using the dynamic and open-ended methods of ethnography to explore specific questions in peacebuilding processes, resulting in actionable findings and recommendations. The ethnographic case study of one health centre therefore follows a simple framework to assess the performance of HCWs as peacebuilders, while at the same time allowing for flexibility in finding new and unexpected roles and contributions to peace. In the sense of hybrid peacebuilding, HCWs are understood as one of a host of important peacebuilding actors, while in the logic of everyday peace, the contributions of HCWs are highlighted as taking place through planned activities aimed at creating peace and, just as importantly, through the everyday, “mundane” acts of caring and bringing together diverse people.

The strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of HCW’s engagement for peace are illustrated through examples of peacebuilding between different resident communities and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) care and case management. It is argued that, although HCWs fill important roles in peacebuilding – particularly by bringing together and serving diverse communities equally at the health centre – their potential in the sense of PtH is only partially fulfilled. Support in the form of training programmes, infrastructural investments and better inclusion in peacebuilding networks should therefore be extended. Such support should always be based on a sound understanding of different HCWs’ specific contextual possibilities and limitations, highlighting the continued importance of research into PtH and traditionally ignored actors and locations of peacebuilding.