Countering Coloniality in Global Health Comment on "The Rhetoric of Decolonizing Global Health Fails to Address the Reality of Settler Colonialism: Gaza as a Case in Point"

Abstract

This commentary joins the chorus of rightful critiques of global health as it continues to further colonial agendas under the guise of supposed well-meaning efforts. Engebretsen and Baker rightfully call out the uptake of decolonial rhetoric in the field of global health, pointing out notable failures to actually challenge undergirding colonial structures and move beyond theory into meaningful action, using clear examples from the ongoing crisis in Gaza and global health's ongoing response (or lack thereof). In this work I bring together essential foundations of decolonial scholarship in order to further the work Engebretsen and Baker have defined as crucial reckoning points for the field of global health. This commentary will (1) ground our conversation by defining true decolonization, (2) delineate the coloniality of knowledge and its manifestations in global health, and (3) conclude with a call to develop a decolonial praxis.

Keywords: Colonialism; Coloniality; Decolonization; Global Health.