Colonization and decolonization of global health: which way forward?

ABSTRACT

Despite taking on several forms throughout history such as colonial medicine, tropical medicine, and international health, the field of global health continues to uphold colonialist structures. History demonstrates that acts of colonialism inevitably lead to negative health outcomes. Colonial powers promoted medical advancements when diseases affected their own people, and only did so for locals when in the colonies’ best interests. Numerous medical advancements in the United States also relied on the exploitation of vulnerable populations. This history is critical in evaluating the actions of the United States as a proclaimed leader in global health. A significant barrier to progress in the field of global health is that most leaders and leading institutions are located in high-income countries, thereby defining the global standard. This standard fails to meet the needs of most of the world. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, colonial mentalities may be more evident. In fact, global health partnerships themselves are often ingrained in colonialism and may be counterproductive. Strategies for change have been called into question by the recent Black Lives Matter movement, particularly in evaluating the role that less privileged communities should have in their own fate. Globally, we can commit to evaluating our own biases and learning from one another.

KEYWORDS:

• Colonisation
• decolonisation
• global health education
• high-income countries
• low-income countries

Responsible Editor Stig Wall

Responsible Editor Stig Wall

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors’ contributions

MH reviewed existing literature. MH and MS1 prepared this manuscript. All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the manuscript.

Paper context

Global health is rooted in colonialism. Throughout history and its many forms, its colonialist structures have been upheld. Efforts to decolonise global health have varied in effectiveness. This paper examines the roots of global health, recent developments in the decolonisation of global health, barriers to progress, and our proposals for the next steps forward.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.