Pai reminds us that global health was born out of colonialism and white supremacy -still firmly centered in power and privilege. Two-thirds of GH agencies have HQs in just 3 countries: USA, UK, and Switzerland. Focus is on generosity and saviorism, hoarding vaccines, and hand-outs with the trickle-down charity model. He quotes Ijeoma Nnodim Opara,”“A critical analysis of colonialism is fundamentally intersectional and must locate its construction, and thus, deconstruction, in the intersection of white supremacy, global anti-Blackness, patriarchy, capitalism,…
Category: Decolonization
Colonialism is a longstanding historical and social phenomenon as much as well as a mindset. Throughout the history of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and contemporary practices of global health assistance are the dominant relationships of power and privilege that are perpetuated by people and institutions of the global north toward those of the global south.
Can the Gates Foundation Decolonize itself?
Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation Avoids a Reckoning on Race and Power | The Nation Can philanthropy decolonize? Only if wealthy donors grapple with the difference between giving away money and actually sharing power. By Tim Schwab OCTOBER 2, 2021 https://www.thenation.com/article/society/gates-foundation-colonialism/
How we talk about global health
How we talk about global health: David Verga (PATH) November 2020: As James Baldwin points out in Notes of a Native Son, “the root function of language is to control the universe by describing it.” Regardless of our intent, the words we use have material consequences. As NGOs, the way we describe our work shapes the way others see it, and think about it, and act on it. Verga’s examples include casual use of terms like ‘beneficiary,’ ‘on-the-ground,’ and ’empower.’ https://www.path.org/articles/how-we-talk-about-public-health-and-why-it-matters/