Lise Rosendal Østergaard is a PhD fellow in medical anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. She has extensive research experience in West Africa, and since 2012 has been exploring the relationship between people living in rural areas of Burkina Faso. She has worked in Benin and Senegal for the UN Population Fund on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, and has also been a consultant with the World Bank, Danida and Danish civil society organisations working on HIV/AIDS and health issues.