Reflections from the Global Health Program at the University of Vermont Robert Larner M.D. College of Medicine and the Western Connecticut Health Network
Written by Stephen Scholand, MD, Nuvance Health Global Health Academy Faculty and eMagazine Columnist
Written by Joshua Matusuko, medical student at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda
Written by Micaila Baroffio, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 2023
Written by Hossein Akbari, MD, MSc, Nuvance Health Global Health Academy Faculty and eMagazine Columnist
Written by Brittany L Gilmore, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 2023
Written by Mark Oet, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 2024
Written by Mitra Sadigh, Writer, Editor, and Researcher at the Nuvance Health / University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program
I strongly believe in these ideas, but I do not call them decolonization. The term is too often misused. A change in structure does not guarantee a change in mindset. We can work toward greater representation on committees, for instance, but how will LMIC members overcome the colonial mentality towards speaking up and articulating their ideas without fear or intimidation? How will HIC members overcome the colonial mentality towards creating an environment of safety and respect for their colleagues while also sharing and even stepping down from power?
Written by Mitra Sadigh, Writer, Editor, and Researcher at the Nuvance Health / University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program
The question for GH education programs is how to nurture this keen participant. GH education functions within countless other colonially-rooted sectors. A change in culture inexorably precedes a change in practice. We must plant the seed for change within our students in HIC and LMIC—teach them to discover the roots of the inequities they witness and sometimes partake in.
Written by Mitra Sadigh, Writer, Editor, and Researcher at the Nuvance Health / University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program
We open our discussion by acknowledging this as one single page in one of the longest human sagas, and colonization as one of our most ingrained stories. While the decolonization movement in GH has meaningful momentum right now, we must acknowledge our greater context and timeline. Like decolonization, the concept of GH is in perpetual evolution from its roots in colonial medicine to tropical medicine continuing through today’s terms of “planetary health” and calls for “decolonization” and “deconstruction/reconstruction.”
Written by Nelson Sewankambo MBChB, MSc, M.MED, FRCP, LLD (HC)
Global Health Diaries 