Decolonising global health: colonial history & institutional structures that perpetuate disadvantage

Dr Lioba Hirsch & Dr Mishal Khan

In light of the numerous recent reports of white supremacy in high-profile global health organisations, we examine how colonial legacies work their way into global health programmes, research, teaching and careers, and discuss how institutions in this space can move to fight, not reinforce, racial and national hierarchies.

 

 

Dr Lioba Hirsch is a Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) where she works on a research project exploring the School’s colonial history. Prior to this she completed a PhD on antiblackness and global health in relation to the British-led international Ebola response in Sierra Leone at UCL.

Dr Mishal Khan is an Associate Professor of Health Policy and Systems at LSHTM, focusing on inequities and governance. She is a founding member of the LSHTM-Decolonising Global Health group, a Consultant at the Chatham House Global Health Programme and sits on LSHTM’s governing Council.

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