Decolonizing Global Health
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Elite Capture
Decolonizing global health requires actively resisting this dynamic by centering the voices, knowledge systems, and priorities of historically marginalized communities.Elite capture undermines efforts to decolonize global health by allowing privileged actors—often from the Global North or dominant institutions—to co-opt and redirect resources, narratives, and decision-making power in ways that maintain existing hierarchies.
This list is ever-evolving, and will be continuously updated.
If you have any relevant resources you want to share, please reach out to decolonizingglobalhealth@gmail.com
Resources
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Táíwò, O. (2022). Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)
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Abimbola, S. (2019). The foreign gaze: authorship in academic global health.
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Abimbola, S. (2024). The foreign gaze- Essays on Global Health.
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Krugman, D. (2023). Global health and the elite capture of decolonization: On reformism and the possibilities of alternate paths.
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Zadey & Sharma (2025). From decolonizing global health to neo-colonization by local elites: From the frying pan into the fire.
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Pai, Bandara & Kyobutungi (2024). Shifting power in global health will require leadership by the Global South and allyship by the Global North