At its core, the field of global health strives to create more equitable relationships between people and places around the world. However, the contemporary global health discourse lacks critical consideration of the historical background, political context, and disproportionate power dynamics of the current, Western-dominated system. Nearly every aspect of global health from agenda-setting to financing, funding, data collection, publishing, and research dissemination is dominated by the Global North. For example, of the 198 global health organizations around the world, less than 15% are located outside of North America or Western Europe (Global Health 50/50, 2019). Also, a number of recent studies have highlighted the fact that African researchers are under-represented in first and last authorship positions in papers published from research conducted in Africa (Mbaye et al., 2019; Hedt-Gauthier et al., 2019). This discussion brings together researchers, policymakers, and others interested in identifying and correcting some of the pervasive power imbalances in global health that contribute to these inequities. By critically engaging with the shortcomings of our current global health system, we demonstrate how we can work across disciplines towards more equitable global health practice. First, we discuss how policies that are meant to improve public health can exacerbate global inequities by not accounting for the priorities and expertise of local communities. Next, we present results from qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals who deployed to the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic to illustrate the harms that can arise as a result of relying on a Western-centric approach to healthcare volunteerism. Then, we examine ongoing trends in persistent colonization of global health that still exist through informal venues such as foreign policy. Finally, we address the extent to which accessibility of data on underserved populations can lead to further exploitation and stigmatization, and the limitations of “informed consent” in these contexts. We incorporate both research and professional experiences to inform this conversation, and will close with a moderated discussion including a synthesis of our presentations, actionable ways to decolonize global health, and strategies to overcome systemic barriers that may impede that goal. This discussion highlights the importance and challenges of cross-cultural collaborations, and lessons learned that can inform true collaborative transnational partnerships and effective global health research, practice, and policy.
Session Chair: Attia Goheer
Presenters: Denise St. Jean, Ezinne Nwankwo, Ans Irfan, Chioma Woko
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