Hello everyone,
We’re pleased to send you our latest review of press and literature on global health.
This time, it will be devoted to the history of global health.
A history of global health is, of course, a history of the epidemics that have struck the world: plague, cholera, Spanish flu, of course, but also trypanosomiasis, malaria,polio, Ebola, and so on. The emergence and spread of infectious diseases with epidemic potential have punctuated human history right up to the present day. AIDS obviously occupies a special place in this history, as it is sometimes said to have, in a way, “ invented ‘ global health, in the sense of a worldwide awareness of our interdependence.
Making the history of global health also means becoming aware of its links with tropical medicine(Andrew Gibson) or withcolonial history (Guillaume Lachenal). We have selected for you a few articles on key elements of this historical substratum, such as the creation of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, or the career of Louis Pasteur.
Although the concept of “global health ‘ has gainedmomentum in recent years, it is actually more than forty years old, and was first used by theAmerican Institute of Medicine in 1997. The concept remains a subject of debate in its own right, particularly when it comes to distinguishing it from what is known as international public health: strong transnational and intersectoral dimensions, emergence of new players on the international scene, link with neo-liberal practices, etc.
A history of global health also means going back to the historical origins of theWHO in 1948, from the first international health conferences to the present day, and making room for critical approaches to this history, with Randall Packard and many others, notably on the security dimension of global health.
Last but not least, making the history of global health means realizing the importance of memory and thehistorical approach to health: historians have much to teach us.
Enjoy your reading!