Our collective memory: how we remember – or choose to forget – the history of global health is playing a silent yet powerful role in shaping which issues receive attention and funding. This distorted memory acts as a long-standing epidemic that undermines the effectiveness of today’s health systems. According to a 2024 UN report, […]
Category: Decolonizing global health
African problems need African solutions; the crucial role of community level partnership-working
Much has been written in global health research about the need for meaningful North-South partnerships where problems are identified, and solutions devised and tested by those who live, love, and work in the communities where these problems exist. In this blog we provide a window into the story of a robust partnership as a […]
Visa discrimination: moving beyond global health
Visa discrimination has recently become a major topic in global health circles. This is following a spate of discriminatory policies in 2022, which specifically targeted African health professionals being denied visas to global health conferences in the Global North. A recent article in BMJ detailed such cases leading to greater calls for hosting such […]
Bridging the global health divide: reflections of scholars in the global south
The agenda to decolonize global health has gained prominence internationally as a movement against the systematic dominance of former colonizing nations in research, policy and practice. A balanced composition of member representatives from different world bank regions seeks to address growing inequalities between nations. Scholarship programs have done a tremendous job harnessing resources for […]
Global Health’s Identity Crisis
Lately, the field of global health–led by journals like the BMJ Global Health that often set the discourse–has opened itself up for introspection. Researchers and writers from around the world have been critiquing the field, its theory and praxis. As encouraging as this attempt at introspection and critique is, it runs the risk of […]
The COVID-19 pandemic response: A microcosm of neocolonialism that hurts us all
Modern colonization drastically differs from what it was historically. Today’s control does not require economically rich countries to invade, set up physical colonies, or exert military control in less powerful countries. Instead, the neo-colonial power dynamics and approaches of today are more complex. A key difference is the emergence of global health in the […]
Colonialism in speech-language pathology: Moving forward
How we communicate is one way through which we tell the world who we are. The vocabulary, syntax, and speech sounds we use tell others where we are from, our age, our gender, our socioeconomic background, and our cultural associations. The language learning process initiates us into our communities by implicitly teaching us the […]
Wheels of the bus go round and round: racism in women’s health organizations
First it was the claims of Women Deliver being a White Faux Feminism agency, now it’s the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC). Recently, the President of IWHC resigned after a report found a work culture of fear and intimidation experienced by junior staff and people of colour. October is the month dedicated to mental […]