[Prolegomena to reform of healthcare services: from identification of problems to development of effective tools]

Various institutions have developed healthcare programs to cope with the serious epidemiologic situation in many developing counties. Although these programs are indispensable, many are "disconnected" from the social context for which they were developed. Perusal of a few anthropological texts describing problems associated with providing healthcare services in Africa allows identification of the difficulties and modalities of interaction between caregivers and populations and a basis for proposing avenues for reflection about improvement.