Who Gets to Shape Global Health?

Photo by A Chosen Soul on Unsplash

Reflections on Decolonizing Research and Reclaiming African Voices

By Florence Shedrack

On 15 July 2026, I had the opportunity to represent Shades of Us at the webinar titled Decolonizing Global Health: Practitioner Perceptions and Pathways for Practice, facilitated by Dr. Anthony Francis Mveyange, a development economist and Director of Programs for Synergy at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). The session challenged long-held assumptions about power, partnership, and knowledge production in global health. More importantly, it challenged me to rethink what equitable collaboration should truly look like. 

Decolonizing Global Health

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

By Victor Jacob

 

Whenever conversations about global health come up, they usually centre around disease outbreaks, vaccines, medical research, or improving access to healthcare. For the longest time, that was exactly how I thought about it too. To me, global health was simply about finding better ways to keep people healthy. Sometimes, however, all we need is a little more education to broaden our perspective.

Building Climate-Resilient Health Systems For Global Health Security

Photo by McBarth™ Obeya on Pexels

By Yecenu Sasetu

I looked forward to the harmattan period as a child growing up in Jos, Plateau state. I wasn’t a fan of the dust but I loved the cold weather because then I got to wear cool jackets and pretend I was abroad. I especially loved December because of the holidays which meant eating, playing and watching Home Alone. It also meant huddling together as a family on the couch under heavy blankets to keep warm.