On World Health Day, a Call for Equity, Justice & the End of Paternalism

Family planning counselor and nurse speaks to group at clinic in Nakuru, Kenya. Credit: Sala LewisBy Joyce Banda and Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins*WASHINGTON DC, Apr 7 2021 (IPS) The past year has forced many of us to address difficult truths about how we treat and take care of each other — among them is a reckoning with racism and injustice. In the global health and development sector, this reckoning is not new. Black, Brown and Indigenous women have been at the forefront of driving efforts to end inequity, racism and paternalism for decades, but the threats remain. As women and leaders in global health and development from lower income countries, we intimately understand the consequences of the enduring legacies of colonialism, discrimination and disinvestment across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The dominant, top-down and inequitable approach to health and development — coupled with underinvestment in flexible, community-based programs — can no longer continue. Nowhere is the impact more apparent and overdue than with lifesaving and life-changing sexual and reproductive health information, services and care. We have seen people turned away from clinics due to programmatic pivots by international donors that have impacted health supplies and service delivery. We know of increases in household-level abuse and illness when community health worker networks are eroded due to funding and policy changes. We worry about the vulnerability of girls to sexual abuse a...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Development & Aid Education Environment Global Health Humanitarian Emergencies Inequity Poverty & SDGs Sustainability TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news