Colonialism has had tremendous effects on the health of both indigenous populations and colonists through a system of oppression, the transmission of new diseases, and the process of urban planning (Farmer, et al CH 3 2013). In order to understand and analyze the impacts that colonial history has had on contemporary global health one must take a broad and historically deep perspective towards health. Practices such as the economization of health, the racialization of health and politicization of health can all be traced back to colonial health. Recent crisis such as the Haitian Cholera Outbreak of 2010, ... , and … can all be seen in similar forms during the colonial; era/ Furthermore, contemporary global health can be seen as a byproduct
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Today, the structures of power left by colonialism continue to dictate the strengths of public health systems around the world. Specifically colonial health shaped the system of health disparities that we see today. Through the use of sanitation practices such as the cordon sanitaire colonialism left a lasting impression of the racialization of health system. Specifically in Uganda in 1902, colonizers became to take increasing concern over the health of their African subjects and as a result instituted an initiative to tackle the Sleeping Sickness illness (Lyons 1998). Through this colonists were able to shape their perception on health and sanitation through evaluating it as a race problem, associating illness and disease with the foreign nations and often describing them as caused by the “primitive” practices of African populations. This lasting effect can be seen today, with the belief that African countries on average face worse public health practices do to their “primitive” ways of living. Western countries and countries of white populations are on the other hand seen as more advance and “clean” thus implying a better sense of overall health (Mitman 2014). A recent example of this trend of colonial health today is with the recent Haitian Cholera Outbreak (Famer, el al 2013). Comparing the Haitian cholera outbreak of 2010 to the Ugandan Sleep sickness efforts of …show more content…
One example of this is in U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Like many actions of the colonial errors public health interventions were done primarily for reasons altruistic to colonizers. In this case public health initiatives in Philippines were done in order to aid in the political efforts or U.S. not only in the Philippines but also around the world. Through the United State’s actions they were able to assert their dominance and the betterment of public health was a secondary side effect. Overall colonial health has left long lasting legacies on global health today. This is important in order to understand why global health infrastructures are the way they are and in order to properly intervene in the health systems of various nations. Understanding the history of colonial approaches to global health is critical in understanding contemporary debates about health and their social implications. Thus in order to address global health issues, scholars much examine the ways in which the colonial legacies can be altered in order to make room for change
Today, the structures of power left by colonialism continue to dictate the strengths of public health systems around the world. Specifically colonial health shaped the system of health disparities that we see today. Through the use of sanitation practices such as the cordon sanitaire colonialism left a lasting impression of the racialization of health system. Specifically in Uganda in 1902, colonizers became to take increasing concern over the health of their African subjects and as a result instituted an initiative to tackle the Sleeping Sickness illness (Lyons 1998). Through this colonists were able to shape their perception on health and sanitation through evaluating it as a race problem, associating illness and disease with the foreign nations and often describing them as caused by the “primitive” practices of African populations. This lasting effect can be seen today, with the belief that African countries on average face worse public health practices do to their “primitive” ways of living. Western countries and countries of white populations are on the other hand seen as more advance and “clean” thus implying a better sense of overall health (Mitman 2014). A recent example of this trend of colonial health today is with the recent Haitian Cholera Outbreak (Famer, el al 2013). Comparing the Haitian cholera outbreak of 2010 to the Ugandan Sleep sickness efforts of …show more content…
One example of this is in U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Like many actions of the colonial errors public health interventions were done primarily for reasons altruistic to colonizers. In this case public health initiatives in Philippines were done in order to aid in the political efforts or U.S. not only in the Philippines but also around the world. Through the United State’s actions they were able to assert their dominance and the betterment of public health was a secondary side effect. Overall colonial health has left long lasting legacies on global health today. This is important in order to understand why global health infrastructures are the way they are and in order to properly intervene in the health systems of various nations. Understanding the history of colonial approaches to global health is critical in understanding contemporary debates about health and their social implications. Thus in order to address global health issues, scholars much examine the ways in which the colonial legacies can be altered in order to make room for change