Jessica Ott is an anthropologist and public health practitioner based in Washington, DC. She wrote a dissertation about memory and women’s rights in Zanzibar, where she has lived on and off for several years. Jessica is committed to using her background in medical anthropology to inform and influence global health policy.
Latest posts by Jessica Ott
Tanzanians debate the meaning of new ‘lower-middle-income’ World Bank status
The World Bank’s updated classification of Tanzania as a middle-income country has evoked a national debate about what development means and how it should be measured — as election season approaches.
Tanzanian women’s savings and loan groups in flux during COVID-19
In Tanzania and around the world, COVID-19 exposes the vulnerability of microfinance savings and loan groups during large-scale crises.
Quarantine debates in Zanzibar conjure memories of colonial racial segregation
In light of Zanzibar’s complex history of racial segregation in the name of public health, social distancing and quarantine measures have been controversial in the fight against COVID-19.
