Inaugural Chair, Department of Global and Public Health, McGill University & Editor-in-Chief, PLOS Global Public Health Views reflect my own, not my institutions
One of our most widely read articles at PLOS GPH journal! Country ownership in global health by Abdisalan M. Noor 1. Country ownership is not yours to ensure, you certainly cannot confer it 2 Do not confuse government with country, or ministry of health with the health system 3. Have a dialogue, ask questions, listen to those who live with the problem 4. ‘Evidentiary’ knowledge and control over funds create power asymmetries 5. You are a helper and an ally, accept these roles and stay true to them 6. The most important voices for change are often the quietest 7. The power of data to change minds is not simply in the ‘quality of the evidence’ but in the ‘change activism’ it catalyzes 8. One size doesn’t fit all, really! 9. Beware of the policy development addicts 10. Harvesting of national data is the silent scandal of global health https://lnkd.in/gTdbaJ-m
Agree on all the points shared here. It is even difficult when harvesting is done in broad daylight and unless affiliated with funded institutions, you are being refused to be included just because they can decide it.
Very interesting and useful article. Especially like the point of not confusing government with country or ministry of health with the health system and not conferring country ownership.I will always recall a colleague from a country undergone conflict with a current tyrannical government saying 'what do you mean we have links with the government, that is not a recognized government' Made me think about how valuable it was having a diversity of voices heard. Thanks for sharing!
Abdisalan M. Noor - always has been a remarkable leader and innovator. Grateful to have worked alongside for so many years.
Brilliant!
points 7 and 10 - exactly it is scandal!
Comprehensive and eloquently put.
So true. Yes and yes
Thanks for sharing Madhu! Great and very on point article! Thanks Abdisalan M. Noor
Epidemiologist | NIH Fogarty Global Health Fellow | Shaping the Future of Public Health | University-wide #Husky100 Honoree
7moBy far, the. majority of global research funding goes to institutions and folks in HICs, even for work done in LMICs. It leads to a culture of data and information peddling that is delinked from the lived experience and doesn’t speak to the rightful owners and users of this information. It perpetuates a chronic capacity deficit, and in the long run, it makes a mockery of the spirit of ‘great science is collaborative science’.