In August 2018, my husband and I left London for the colder, darker, but Brexit-free, climes of Sweden. With rose-tinted glasses firmly on, we were excited to live in a country famed for its keen sense of equity, entrepreneurial spirit and pragmatic stylishness. With our own mushroom foraging spot identified, a firm opinion on […]
Category: Science activism
The White Savior Industrial Complex in Global Health
Introduction: Global health, once an obscure field of practice and research, is rapidly gaining prominence. Many training institutions have responded to the high demand for a global health “experience” by providing short-term forays into exotic locales. This phenomenon can be dangerous, feeding into what writer Teju Cole described as the White Savior Industrial Complex (WSIC). […]
Gender inclusion in global health can start with our words
What is the impact of language that, implicitly or explicitly, excludes women? Drs Anthea Katelaris & Meru Sheel discuss There is increasing recognition that women are uniquely affected during public health emergencies. For example, women may be exposed to infections in their roles as caregivers, as seen with Ebola outbreaks. The needs of women may […]
What does data privacy and its commercialisation mean for global health?
In the world where digital health is becoming the norm – what does data privacy and commercialisation mean for global health ? writes Michael Johnson Imagine you are an activist working to fight corruption within your own government. For ten years you have been receiving regular HIV treatment, but your HIV status is known only […]
Let’s talk about sex – what has sexuality got to do with violence during global health fieldwork?
Valéry Ridde and colleagues recently published an Editorial entitled “It’s time to address sexual violence in academic global health”. While I support the call to fight the violence endured by women, I disagree with the authors in a number of respects. Sexual violence is not peculiar to global health The situations encountered when doing field […]
Weaponising the ‘Fog of War’: The challenge of fake news for humanitarian actors in conflict zones
“In war, truth is the first casualty.” – Aeschylus (Ancient Greek playwright & soldier) A recently released report on the Yemen conflict utilises a range of data sources to illustrate the Saudi coalition’s targeting of civilian, agricultural and fishing infrastructure, actions presumably intended to worsen the country’s existing humanitarian crisis. At the time of writing, […]
“Science is everywhere, let’s keep it that way.” Increasing threats to science both in the North and South: some responses
By Sara Ardila-Gómez (Emerging Voices for Global Health, 2014, Argentina) & Kati Wilkins (Emerging Voices for Global Health, 2016, United States of America) Over the last months, quite a few governments from both Northern and Southern countries have turned their backs on science by questioning its value, importance, and contribution to human and planetary sustainable […]