Part Two: Decolonising Global Health
The second event in our Current Stories in Global Health series will feature talks on decolonising global health by experts from the UK, Pakistan and Colombia.
In academic and research institutions in the global north, decolonisation has become a buzzword. But does it mean anything beyond adjusting reference lists and having a more diverse set of project partners? For global south institutions, decolonisation can feel like an empty promise. Can health institutions in the global north really be convinced to give up their power?
This event takes a critical lens to decolonisation efforts, thinking about what global health institutions in the global south and global north are currently doing, and what they should be doing. We try to understand what it is that we are decolonising, how decolonisation can lead to reparative justice and meaningful acknowledgement, and if decolonising global health is even possible at all given the colonial histories of global health?
We are delighted to have with us the following speakers:
Shahzad Amjad Khan (@LaparoscopyFsd): Working as Consultant Surgeon and Health Professions Educator for over 12 years, Shahzad's research interests include studying the Dynamics of Power in Healthcare and Health Educational Settings. Their work involves research, advocacy and praxis in order to affect meaningful change in our systems of healthcare provision and health professions education. To this end, in addition to having published original research and analytical papers, they work extensively with institutional and local administrations to create awareness towards decolonizing health education curriculum and sensitization towards one’s power and privilege in healthcare hierarchies. They teach a module on “Decolonizing Healthcare” to year-5 medical students and residents at their institution.
María Cristina Quevedo-Gómez: María is currently appointed as Principal Professor at El Rosario University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She has 17 years of teaching and research experience in academic positions in the Netherlands and Colombia in which she focused on ethnographic research and participatory methods (PAR) to understand health and illness processes from a collaborative and comprehensive perspective. Her research examines the process of collaborative production of knowledge between scientist and non-scientists, and on its value in the construction of participative social policy as well as social actions that lead to the transformation of current global health issues and social realities.
Ricardo Twumasi (@RicardoTwumasi): Ricardo is a lecturer at King’s College London within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience. His PhD research related to the impact of legislative change on the aging workforce and equality at work. His research interests also include discrimination, equality, workplace health promotion, and the influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning to fairness at work. He's created a Global Health MSc module entitled: Decolonising Health.
Sohail Jannesari (@SohailJannesari): Sohail is a Lecturer in Global Health at BSMS. He has worked on outcomes for survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. He completed a PhD on the effects of the asylum process on the mental health of Iranians and Afghans using a participatory approach and a postcolonial lens. He is also the project lead on the Stolen Tools anti-racism journal, convener of the Inspiring Ethics group and co-developed a guide for mental health professionals working with Afghan sanctuary seekers. He founded the Migrant Connections Festival and Walk and Talk Migrant Welcome Tour charities.
Register for this online event here >