Rethinking Knowledge in Global Health

In global (public) health, the way we define knowledge and knowers is not neutral and directly affects the outcome of health interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted both the limitations of the current knowledge ecosystem in global health and the positive impact of nationally and locally informed public health interventions. From this perspective, this chapter aims to increase readers’ understanding of these limitations and guide them in efforts to improve interactions between and within diverse knowledge systems. This chapter is divided into three main sections. Firstly, we briefly illuminate the roots of decolonial science in global health and the importance of social sciences in public health practice. Secondly, we describe common biases that act as barriers to change in the global health knowledge ecosystem and introduce a change management approach to rethink the way different forms of knowledge are currently generated, understood, used, disseminated, and legitimized. Thirdly, we define the concept of Emancipatory Health Interventions (EHIs), the role of global actors in their design, and present a case study to guide actors in efforts to identify existing EHIs and normalize practices in the future.