Category: Decolonization

History shows that institutions often change not gradually but through sharp disruptions—critical junctures. These are moments of profound uncertainty and instability, when the usual path is interrupted and a new direction becomes possible—even mandatory. The choices made during such periods by countries, governments, and communities can set trajectories that last for decades. In January 2025, global health entered such a moment. Stop work orders were issued for PEPFAR-funded activities and other U.S. global health programs across multiple countries, abruptly halting…

Since its beginnings, the field of global health has been structured by power dynamics which privilege the work of the Global North. Efforts to change this status quo have been incrementing as years go by. However, institutions and researchers from the Global South still face many systemic barriers. Both geopolitical hemispheres need to address this issue collaboratively to bring equity into the picture.  In the article titled “Shifting power in global health will require leadership by the Global South and…

David McCoy, Anuj Kapilashrami and co-authors argue in the Bulletin of the WHO that an agenda for decolonization among global health practitioners must address the corporate and financialized power, injustice, exploitation, wealth extraction and profiteering that is widespread today.  They present a three-part decolonization agenda for action to: 1) address the power asymmetries between global health actors from high-income & privileged countries and their counterparts in low-income and marginalized settings; 2) address colonization by the institutions, structures and systems of…