Global health education is a field that has long been heavily westernized in its education and practice. For many years, academic institutions in North America and Europe have constructed the structures, language, and approaches that characterize the teaching and practice of global health. This has led to a heavy emphasis on the experiences, priorities, and world views of the Global North, while those outside of this group are left marginalized. With the raising call of decolonizing global health education, the question is whose curriculum is it?
Central to this movement is the realization that global health, despite its name, isn’t truly global. The training of these health professionals around the world has frequently been through partners and online sites of western academies. The systems of health that students in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are commonly taught and trained on to approach health issues are very different from their own health systems. More emphasis is placed on western biomedical models, English based literature, and ignoring the roles played by colonial histories and cultural practices on health outcomes.
Nevertheless, this is gradually changing. Local accredited institutions are coming out strong in redefining global health education. Universities are also not only developing curriculum that is context specific, but are also laying to rest the idea that knowledge should trickle down from the west. Preferences are given to classes that look at the history of colonialism in health systems, the incorporation of local indigenous healing practices, and enable students to shoulder the task of solving the specific health issues public in their local communities. More and increasingly, the institutions lying within the Global South and commonly known as the South-South partnerships are facilitating more equal knowledge exchange and capacity-building that does not involve the gatekeeping of western institutions.
Content is not the only issue when it comes to the attempt at decolonizing the curriculum. It is also an issue of who can produce and validate knowledge. The Global South scholars and practitioners have been underrepresented in scholar-publications, advisory boards, and funding mechanisms of research. Decolonizing global health education means rethinking educators, students, and what information really matters. It involves the uplifting of small voices, removing the power out of the hands of others, encouraging people to learn more about their health.
While we’re facing problems such as pandemics, global warming, and inequity in the system full-on, it is apparent that the solution is in diverse points of views. Decolonization of global health education is not only a corrective move, it is a much needed transformation that will make global health education what it promises to be.
Image Credit: WRVO
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