Global Health Equity Imperatives

globe

Kate Daisy Deebrah
MHSc Candidate, Global Health Systems   

 

In the realm of global health, we stand today, 

In the wake of COVID-19’s tumultuous sway. 

A tale of triumph and inequity unfolds1,  

A journey through power’s asymmetrical holds.  

 

Discriminatory patterns from high-income lands2,  

Funding agencies, universities, prejudiced hands,  

Coloniality’s grip and pervasive guise,  

Shaping our judgments and making us unwise.  

 

Colonial education, a tool of control3,  

Ingrained in our minds, taking hold of our soul.  

We must acknowledge how history’s sting,  

Has caused intergenerational suffering.  

 

A lifeline given, but often with strings4,  

Creating dependency that sadly clings.  

Like clipped wings, short-lived support sings,   

Long-term solutions, it seldom brings. 

 

Inequities persist, as dependence takes hold,  

Local solutions are left out in the cold4.  

Low-income countries, their stories unfold,  

In search of empowerment, in a future untold.  

 

Disadvantaged lives are not the sole plight,  

The systems that create them need our insight,  

Dismantling power requires a collective demand5,  

For marginalized voices to gain an equal stand  

 

Western knowledge, while valuable and grand, 

Is not the sole way to heal our land5.  

Reject the urge to fix, and instead, let’s strive,  

To redistribute power and let marginalized voices thrive6.  

 

Those with influence in the spotlight’s glare,  

Must disrupt neocolonial practices laid bare,  

A space in global health, proportionate and just, 

For healthcare professionals of the Global South is a must.  

 

 

 

 

 

References 

 

Abimbola, S., Asthana, S., Montenegro, C., Guinto, R. R., Jumbam, D. T., Louskieter, L., ... &  

Pai, M. (2021). Addressing power asymmetries in global health: imperatives in the wake  

of the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS medicine, 18(4), e1003604.  

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003667  

Kim, H., Novakovic, U., Muntaner, C., Hawkes, M. T. (2019). A critical assessment of the  

 

ideological underpinnings of current practice in global health and their historical origins.  

 

Global Health Action 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1651017 

 

Koplan et al. (2009). Towards a Common Definition of Global Health. Lancet. 373(9679): 1993- 

  1. 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60332-9

 

 

  1. The current approach to global health has been successful in achieving health gains. However, these accomplishments are highly inequitable and will not provide long-term solutions for meeting future health equity challenges.  
  1. In reference to the discriminatory patterns of funding by universities, agencies, and high-income countries.  distribution of funding provided to Global South professionals.  
  1. In reference to the impact of colonialism and how it became a tool of psychological conquest, allowing settlers to destabilize and control indigenous populations.   
  1. This refers to the Global North’s legacy of short-term funding to Global South that reproduces inequities in local health systems through vertical programming. It also references how these funding schemes create dependencies on organizations in the Global North.   
  1. Western knowledge systems and research are not the only way to advance global health and healthcare systems. The Global North needs to reject the urge to fix the lives of individuals who are disadvantaged and oppressed. Instead, they should focus on redistributing power in ways that acknowledge and legitimize the experiences of marginalized people.  
  1. Dismantling power systems requires a collective effort from Global South and Global North healthcare professionals.  

 

 

 

 

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash