Decolonizing Global Health
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Our Reading Course
We hosted our first Reading course in September 2024.Created by Colette Weese, Kavishya Kulatunga & Roos van der Velde. Since then, we hosted another round in December 2024.
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Our next round will be held in May 2025. Want to sign up? Updates coming soon.

Next Round
We will host our next round in person will take place May 2025. Students will be prioritised, however, everyone from any background is welcome to join. Limited seats available.
More information will follow soon. Want to stay up to date? Sign up to our interest form below.
History
First Round:
Kick-off in September 2024.10 participants. from a variety of backgrounds (health, architecture, machine learning).
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Second Round:
December 2024, shortened version for new members of Decolonizing Global Health.
We started running a reading course on campus to create a space for real-life discussions on the topic of decolonisation. We wanted spread awareness on decolonisation, as well as to build a community of activists. Community in activism is crucial, and creating a space to share thoughts, emotions and uncertainties has been a beautiful way for us to explore decolonisation further.
The course was created by Colette Weese, Kavishya Kulatunga, and Roos van der Velde.
A special thanks for Dr. Madhukar Pai and McGill University for sharing their resources with us.
Week 1
Week 2
Decolonisation- an introduction
Language &
Buzzwordification
Week 3
Week 4
Elite Capture: History & Politics
Activism: from white saviourism to critical allyship
Week 5
Week 6
Global Health- the past and the future
Decolonisation & Climate Change
The Resources
Inspired by Reading Course 'Reimagining Global Health' by McGill University
Week 1: Decolonisation- an introduction
Week 2: Language, buzzwords & decolonising decolonisation
In the first week, we start with ourselves. Reflecting on one's own positionality, help to recognise
one's own position within the field of global health, particularly when coming from a place of privilege. As a global professional, working with different contexts, your work is shaped by your world views and your belief systems.
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“For feminist decolonial scholars, our positionality is the embodied pivot from which our knowledge-making materialises.”
Yvonne Te Ruki-Rangi-o-Tangaroa Underhill-Sem, Cook Island and Niuean New Zealand scholar (2020)
Language, which is the words we choose to communicate with the world around us, shapes the way we communicate concepts within the field of global health. Being aware of the words you choose to communicate and enhance your world views, while it also has the risk of perpetuating existing pwoer imbalances.
​Whilst many wordings are harmful, and perpetuate in their meanings colonial legacies, at the same time, we also see how decolonisation thought has become hijacked of its original meaning through elite capture. It is important to remain critical if the steps we take, and wording we use, towards decolonisation are truly transformational and disruptive to hegemonic power systems, or if they are simply performative.
Resources
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Eye on Global Health- Decolonisation Toolkit (Version 1)
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Homan, S. (2023). Why positioning identity matters in decolonising research and knowledge production: How to write a ‘positionality statement’.
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Please consider questions under ‘WHERE TO BEGIN’
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Ballesteros-Watanabe, L. (2024). Decolonization series: Positionality matters.
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Video: The urgency of intersectionality- Kimberly Crenshaw
Resources
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Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included, pp 51-82. Duke University Press.
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Khan.T (2021). Decolonisation is a comfortable buzzword for the aid sector.
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Opara.I (2021). Time to decolonize the decolonization movement.
Week 3: Elite Capture, History & Politics of Decolonisation
Week 4: Activism, from white saviourism to critical allyship
​​The original intent of the decolonisation movement has been to dismantle colonial and capitalist systems, however, through buzzwordification, and elite capture, "decolonization" has been co-opted by elite institutions in the Global North, leading to a diluted, reformist approach that maintains existing power structures. Elite capture involves repurposing radical concepts for the benefit of those in power, thereby undermining genuine transformative efforts. In this week, we explore the realities of elite capture, while also calling for resistance to such co-optation and advocating for a re-engagement with the radical foundations of decolonial theory to effect meaningful change in global health practices.
Initially, the field of Global Health is rooted in white saviourism. People from the West "helping" the Global South (as in: 'One homogenous place that needs saving in its totality'), as they have cracked the code of "good health". However, the works of decolonisation teaches us that this perception is wrong and harmful. When one wants to 'decolonise' global health or any other field, particularly when working from the Global Minority world. In this sessions we critically dissect the difference between 'white saviour' and 'critical ally', using the theory of the 'Coin Model of Privilege' by Nixon (2019).
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Resources
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Duara, P. Decolonisation- Perspectives from Now- and then- Introduction
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Krugman, D.W. (2023). Global Health and the Elite Capture of Decolonisation: on reformism and the possibilities of alternate paths.
Resources
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Cole, T. (2012). The White Saviour Industrial Complex.
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Banjeree et al. (2023). Are we training our students to be white saviours in global health?
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Nixon, S. (2019). The Coin Model of Privilege and critical allyship: implications for health
Week 5: Global Health-
the past and the future
While Global Health as a field is rooted in colonialism, it is also important to look forward. How do neocolonialist movements shape the field currently? How do our structural, disciplinary, hegemonic and interpersonal domains uphold power imbalances and systems of oppression.
Even more important, if we were to truly decolonise the field, would Global Health still be able to exist?
Week 6: Decolonisation & Climate change
You could develop an entire reading course on the topic of decolonisation & climate change, however, we wanted to touch upon this briefly, due to the strong intercorrelation between health, climate change and inequality. ​
Climate change is a crisis of inequality: the ones who are, and will be, impacted the most have contributed the least. As a consequence of global warming, the Global Majority World will face disproportionate health challenges.
Resources
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Burgess, R. (2024). Introduction: Global Health and its uncomfortable truths (until page 19). Rethinking Global Health. Frameworks of Power. Pp. 1-19
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Please take an extra look at Figure 1.1
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Abimbola, S. & Pai, M. (2020). Will Global Health survive its decolonisation? Pp. 1627-1628
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Naidu, T., Gingell, G. & Zaidi, Z. (2024). Decolonial framework for applying reflexivity and positionality in global health research. Pp. 52-58
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Video: A call to address racism and colonialism in Global Health | Prof. Madhukar Pai at AIDS 2022: https://youtu.be/eJQkSO2zw6c
Resources
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Deivanayagam et al. (2023). Envisioning environmental equity: climate change, health, and racial justice. (p. 64-75)
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Please take an extra look at Figure 1. Conceptual model
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Deivanayagam et al. (2022). Climate change, health, and discrimination: action towards racial justice. (pp. 5-7)
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Hickel, J. (2021). The anti-colonial politics of degrowth. (pp. 1-3)
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Videos
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Indigenous Climate Action: https://youtu.be/YooCa3A9c-0
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Climate Justice Explained: https://youtu.be/pHRu0VV-Dbw
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