# Why healthcare needs cultural competence | David Bahibanda | TEDxNHS Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g85sf-Wcibg Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/g85sf-Wcibg Generated: 2026-02-22T12:02:35.35+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Healthcare requires cultural competence training for clinicians and the wider system, moving beyond assumption-based advice about cultural practices like using Calabas chalk or certain rituals, to ensure equitable and holistic patient care, as speaker David Bahibanda, a Congolese medical student, recounts personal and observed experiences where cultural ignorance led to poor patient outcomes. **Key Points:** - The speaker, David Bahibanda, a Congolese final-year medical student, argues that cultural competence must be integrated into medical education and practice to ensure equitable care. - He recounts an experience where a friend suffered severe abdominal pain and constipation, but the doctor only asked about smoking and drinking, overlooking cultural practices like using Calabas chalk (Nzu/Bumba/Shile) which can signal iron deficiency. - Calabas chalk (referred to by several names including Nzu, Bumba, and Shile) is an earthy substance historically used by enslaved Africans and still present in some communities, sometimes signaling potential iron deficiency anemia. - Bahibanda notes that 46.2% of London's population comes from non-white backgrounds, highlighting the urgent need for culturally competent care in diverse settings. - He challenges the audience to consider if they would feel comfortable discussing their cultural practices (like using chalk or traditional rituals) with their doctor without fear of judgment. - The speaker urges for training to equip clinicians and the wider system with cultural competency and empathy, moving away from assumptions and towards asking more probing, culturally aware questions. - The talk advocates for creating spaces for non-judgmental conversations that bridge the gap between tradition and science in healthcare. ![Screenshot at 00:29: David Bahibanda emphatically asking the audience to consider the powerful impact of the word "culture" on how people live, love, and survive, setting the stage for his argument about cultural competence in medicine.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-00-29.jpg) **Context:** This TEDxNHS Evolve talk is delivered by David Bahibanda, a final-year medical student from Congo living in the UK, who shares personal anecdotes and observations illustrating the critical gap in cultural competence within modern healthcare systems. He focuses on how ingrained assumptions and a lack of curiosity regarding patients' cultural backgrounds—including traditional remedies or beliefs—can lead to serious diagnostic errors and inadequate care, using the example of his friend's severe abdominal pain. ## Detailed Analysis David Bahibanda opens by asking the audience to consider the word "culture" and how it shapes fundamental human experiences like survival and love. As a Congolese medical student, he relates that the tools of survival passed down through culture kept people alive, but that modern medicine often overlooks these traditions, assuming patients have progressed as fast as medical science. He recounts a personal story where a friend suffering from severe abdominal pain and constipation was only asked about smoking and drinking by the doctor, leading to a feeling of being dismissed. This dismissal stemmed from the doctor failing to ask about cultural practices, such as the use of Calabas chalk (which the speaker names as Nzu, Bumba, and Shile), a practice rooted in the transatlantic slave trade that can signal iron deficiency anemia. Bahibanda argues that in diverse cities like London (where 46.2% of the population is non-white), clinicians must be trained to recognize and engage with these cultural factors rather than defaulting to assumptions or fearing judgment. He calls for equipping healthcare professionals with cultural competency and empathy, creating spaces for non-judgmental conversations that bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern science. ### Introduction and Thesis - I'm thinking of a word... that shapes how we live, how we love, and how we survive; that word is culture. - I know I'm not the only one who trusted advice from family, especially when it came to health, even medicine we know today didn't just appear out of nowhere, it evolved because knowledge was passed down. - But with the rapid pace of modern medicine, we can sometimes overlook culture. ### The Case Study - My friend was in agony with severe abdominal pain and constipation... She suspected she was mineral deficient. - We all have cultural practices... that we pass down through friends, family, or social media communities. - For me, the remedy was Calabas chalk, which some of you may know as Nzu, Bumba, and Shile... and many more. ### The Problem in Healthcare - Clinicians hold back on asking about culture... Fear of saying the wrong thing, worry they'll be misunderstood or judged. - This instinct to avoid asking about culture led to a gap where my friend's issue was overlooked, despite the chalk being a signal for possible iron deficiency anemia. ### The Call to Action - We need to equip clinicians and the wider system with cultural competency and empathy, and make health information accessible. - We need to create spaces for non-judgmental conversations that bridge tradition and science. - Let's ask one more question: What have you tried based on advice from family, friends, or social media? ![Screenshot at 00:02: Introduction slide showing the event title: TEDxNHS EVOLVE, along with sponsor logos including CW+ and RADA Business.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-00-02.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:26: David Bahibanda begins his talk, questioning what word shapes how we live, love, and survive, which he reveals to be 'culture'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-00-26.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:41: Bahibanda discusses how medical school emphasizes structured assessment but often overlooks cultural context, using his friend's case as an example.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-01-41.jpg) ![Screenshot at 03:58: The speaker conveys the intensity of the issue, questioning why practices like consuming Calabas chalk, which can signal iron deficiency, are often overlooked by clinicians.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-03-58.jpg) ![Screenshot at 08:09: Bahibanda stands center stage, posing a rhetorical question to the audience about whether they have considered simple cultural remedies like chewing betel nut to cure hiccups.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/g85sf-Wcibg/00-08-09.jpg)