Global Health Unfiltered!: Recent Episodes
Global Health Unfiltered!
In this episode, our guests, Sipho Dlamini, Esmita Charani, Everisto Benyara, and Kwesi Amoak, discuss their research projects on decolonizing global health. They explore topics such as the definition of global health, mentorship in global health partnerships, and cross-pollination between Universities and local communities in Africa. Our guests highlight the need to challenge the Western-centric approach to global health and to recognize and value indigenous knowledge and practices. They also emphasize the importance of collaboration, equity, and inclusivity in global health research and practice. We discuss the need to expand the definition of knowledge and include diverse perspectives, and highlight the importance of qualitative research in generating contextual knowledge and the need for epistemic humility. The role of Africans in addressing these issues is emphasized, including the need for agency, collaboration, and perseverance.
Cited:
Mentorship as an overlooked dimension of research capacity strengthening: how to embed value-driven practices in global health
The studies discussed were funded by the Decolonization and Global Health Research Exchange Network, a multidisciplinary network of academics, practitioners, and activists with a shared interest in unpacking and analysing decolonisation debates in global health.
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Guest: Dr. Nicholas Okumu, Orthopedic Oncology Specialist and CEO of Stratos Medical
Key Points:
- Kenya faces a shortage of healthcare workers, with around 4,000 trained physicians, dentists, and pharmacists currently unemployed.
- Recurring strikes by healthcare workers are common, often related to compensation disputes and lack of implementation of collective bargaining agreements.
- Poor remuneration and lack of opportunities have led to brain drain, with many Kenyan healthcare workers seeking employment abroad.
- Public perception often lacks empathy for healthcare workers' demands, viewing them as privileged individuals.
- Potential solutions discussed include pay-for-performance models, public-private partnerships, and incorporating entrepreneurship and management training into medical education.
- Dr. Okumu's venture, Stratos Medical, focuses on medical imaging, teleradiology, and developing a platform for accessing electronic health records.
- The ongoing strike has limited healthcare services to emergency care, causing disruptions and delays in crucial treatments.
- Dr. Okumu emphasizes the importance of advocacy, collaboration across disciplines, and interdisciplinary approaches to address systemic issues in healthcare.
Follow Nicholas on LinkedIn
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Nandita Venkatesan, a Tuberculosis (TB) survivor and advocate, shares her journey of becoming a TB survivor and the challenges she faced in diagnosing, treating, and recovering from the disease. She discusses the stigma and misconceptions associated with TB and the need for greater awareness and understanding. Nandita also highlights her involvement in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson to improve access to TB treatment. The outcome of the lawsuit resulted in reduced prices for TB medications, demonstrating the power of advocacy efforts. She emphasizes the importance of improving access to shorter regimens, developing a new TB vaccine, and empowering patients with knowledge and information.
Connect with Nandita on X
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Dr. Chinonso Egemba, also known as Aproko Doctor, shares his journey of becoming an influential health educator on social media. He discusses the challenges of balancing medical practice and content creation, as well as the importance of using humor and storytelling in health education. Dr. Egemba also addresses the issue of misinformation and fake news in the health space and highlights the need for collaboration and credible sources. He shares his experience with a brain tumor and how it has impacted his work. The conversation also touches on the banter between Nigeria and Ghana, the importance of support systems, and tips for getting into the healthcare field. Dr. Chinonso emphasizes the power of storytelling and collaboration in healthcare.
Takeaways
- Using humor and storytelling can make health education more engaging and relatable.
- Collaboration and fact-checking are essential in combating misinformation and fake news in the health space.
- The future of online education in health will involve storytelling, movies, and music to reach a wider audience.
- Overworking can be a coping mechanism, but it's important to prioritize self-care.
- Collaboration can lead to bigger impact in healthcare.
- Don't be afraid of criticism, but be self-aware and open to making amends.
- Integrate work and life to avoid burnout.
- Start taking action towards your goals, even if it's not perfect.
- Rest and pacing yourself are important for sustainability.
Follow Aproko Doctor on Instagram: @aproko_doctor
Learn more about Aproko Doctor here
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We are thrilled to have Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi back on the show. Our conversation explores the impact of prophets and spiritual healers on people's health across Africa and beyond. We discuss the disturbing revelations from the documentary about TB Joshua and the manipulation, abuse, and exploitation committed by him and other religious leaders. We examine the prevalence of faith healing in Africa and the reasons behind the strong religious beliefs on the continent. The need for integration between science and religion is highlighted, along with the challenges faced by African scientists and healthcare practitioners. We also explore the lack of accountability and the difficulty of achieving justice when there is collusion between politics and religion. Catherine emphasizes the importance of resisting oppression and treating patients with respect and calls for reevaluating power dynamics in science and policy, urging scientists to listen and engage with communities. Enjoy!
Takeaways
- Accountability is often lacking in cases of wrongdoing, particularly in religious and political contexts.
- Collusion between politics and religion can make accountability even more challenging.
- Resisting oppression and treating patients with respect is crucial in healthcare and research.
- Power dynamics in science and policy need to be examined, and scientists should listen to and engage with communities.
- Humility and creating space for discussions are essential in addressing pervasive problems.
Follow Catherine on X: @CKyobutungi
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Dr. Ismahan Soukeyna Diop, a psychologist and psychotherapist from Senegal, discusses her groundbreaking work in African mythology and storytelling in the field of mental health care. She introduces TAMPSY, a revolutionary psychotherapeutic tool rooted in a decolonial approach that is transforming mental health care in Africa. The conversation explores the importance of culturally appropriate approaches in mental health care, the differences between Western and African approaches, the role of African mythology in psychology, and the impact of TAMPSY (Tales of African Mythology Psychotherapy) on patients and practitioners. Dr. Diop also highlights her book on adornment, masquerade, and African femininity.
Takeaways
- Culturally appropriate approaches are crucial in mental health care to ensure that interventions are relevant and effective for individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- African mythology and storytelling can significantly contribute to mental health care by providing a framework for understanding and addressing psychological challenges.
- There is a need to challenge the colonial influence on psychology and embrace diverse cultural perspectives in mental health care.
- TAMPSY, a psychotherapeutic tool rooted in African mythology, is positively impacting mental health care in Senegal, providing a more contextualized and culturally relevant approach.
To learn more about TAMPSY, visit tampsy-optoa.com
Dr. Soukeyna's books can be found here
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In 2002, Patrick Awuah left his lucrative job as an executive at Microsoft, moved back to Ghana, and founded Ashesi University. Realizing that a root cause of underdevelopment was poor leadership, Patrick set up Ashesi University to train the next generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Ghana and Africa. Today, Ashesi University is one of the leading Universities on the continent and has had a tremendous impact on higher education in Ghana. In this episode, Patrick shares the inspiring story around the founding of Ashesi University, its vision and impact, and his outlook on higher education in Africa. He also has some wonderfully honest advice for young people looking to take audacious steps to contribute to the continent's sustainable development.
Learn more about Ashesi University
Follow Patrick Awuah on X and LinkedIn
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We are delighted to bring you Season 3 of the Global Health Unfiltered Podcast, a podcast about the unspoken realities of global health in Africa and the world. We've got a great lineup of exciting guests from across the continent and beyond. Subscribe to this podcast and consider giving us a five-star review if you enjoy the work we do. Your support goes a long way to ensure we keep bringing your enlightening and thought-provoking conversations about global health.
To support us, consider becoming a paid subscriber on Patreon or making a one-time donation via PayPal.
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Welcome to the Global Health Unfiltered Podcast, a podcast about the unspoken realities about global health in Africa and the world.
Our guest today is Dr. Ruth Musila, Global Policy and Industry Partnerships Lead at Takeda. Dr Musila holds a PhD in Pre-Clinical Drug Development. She has held Research Fellow positions at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute. Dr. Musila’s work has focused on improving access to essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries.
Do you have an opinion on a current event or topic in global health? Do you want to share your voice with the world? If so, then you need to learn how to write a powerful opinion piece!
In this training session, you will learn:
- How to identify a timely and relevant topic
- How to develop a strong thesis statement
- How to support your thesis with evidence
- How to write a clear and concise argument
- How to craft a persuasive call to action
- How to identify and pitch your idea to an outlet
This training session is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write an opinion piece that will get noticed and lead to social change. Whether you are a student, a blogger, a researcher, or a policy maker, this training will give you the skills you need to make your voice heard.
This episode of global health unfiltered is brought to you with support from the Decolonisation and Global Health Research Exchange Network.
Our website globalhealthunfiltered.com is your one-stop shop for everything global health unfiltered. Here, you will find previous podcast episodes and blog pieces. We want to hear from you so share your perspectives on this episode, past episodes, or on current global health issues. To do this, simply go to globalhealthunfiltered.com for submissions.
As always this show is only possible with your support. If you would like to make a donation or subscribe to the show for exclusive content you can now do that on our website as well.
Our guest today is Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi. Catherine serves as the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center and has decades of experience working in Africa to improve the health of people across the continent. Her research focuses on chronic disease management, noncommunicable diseases, and health systems responsiveness. She has been at the forefront of the decolonizing global health movement and has written extensively on the topic.
We have a new website where you can access everything about Global Health Unfiltered. You can listen to previous episodes of the show and share your perspectives and engage with other listeners. Just go to globalhealthunfiltered.com
Today we will be talking about mental health in Africa, a topic that we’ve wanted to cover on the podcast for the longest time and we have an amazing guest with us.
We are joined by Saphira Munthali-Mulemba. As a Mental Health practitioner, Saphira is a mental health practitioner with over 11 years of implementing mental health clinical trials in Zambia as a Project Manager with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg, Public Health team and Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia. Currently, she is part of the Social Science Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP), fellowship program as a social scientist. Saphira is affiliated with the Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN) and has a track record of impact as a Zambian therapist, mental health advocate, and mental health implementation manager. Saphira currently works with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.
The “decolonize global health movement” has grown in popularity recently. Is this movement new? Is it helpful or harmful? On this episode, we are joined by an expert who has been working in global health for many years and will share her thoughts on this issue. For this episode, our guest is Prof Iruka Okeke.
Iruka is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research group investigates the mechanisms bacteria use to colonize humans, cause disease and gain drug resistance.
Iruka is a Fellow of both the Nigerian and African Academies of Science. She is a Callestous-Jumah Science Leadership Fellow and recipient of the 2023 Peter Wildly Prize in Microbiology. She has written and co-authored many scientific papers and book chapters and has also written her own book.
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Audio Production and social media marketing: Diana Nkhoma
Research intern: Chisomo Mwale
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Nigerian medical and dental graduates are emigrating in droves to high-income countries such as the USA, UK, and UAE. In response to this crisis, Rep. Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson has sponsored a bill amending the 2004 Medical and Dental Practitioners Act. Nigeria-trained medical and dental practitioners will have to work in Nigeria for five years before they are granted a full license.
To discuss this bill with us today is Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor. As a global health equity advocate, he will bring unique insight into the state of health workforce retention in Nigeria. This insight is bolstered by his past experience at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical School where he graduated as a medical doctor. He has since gone on to train in community health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, strategic frameworks for non-profit organizations at the Harvard Kennedy School health policy and health economics at Jesus College, Oxford University. Simply put, his contributions to this discussion cannot be overstated.
Resources
Read Dr. Nsofor's medium piece here: Doctors in Nigeria Deserve Better Treatment from Their Lawmakers
Here is an editorial by the Daily Trust in support of the bill for an opposing view: Yes To The 5-Year Doctors’ Mandatory Service Bill
And the response from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
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Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
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Audio Production and social media marketing: Diana Nkhoma
Research intern: Chisomo Mwale
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Welcome once again to the global health unfiltered podcast, a podcast about unspoken realities about global health in Africa and the world. Today, we will be talking about funding global health initiatives; who funds what? How are the decisions made? Are African countries too reliant on external funding for public health? And we have an awesome guest with tons of experience in this sector who will be sharing his views with us.
We would also like to acknowledge the sponsors of this episode, the “Promoting Decolonization using innovative knowledge practices" grant hosted by the Center for Tropical Medicine and Global Health of Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Medicine.
Dr. Sam Oti is a Senior Program Specialist at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He operates out of the Nairobi-based regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa, where he serves as the primary point of contact for IDRC's global health initiatives. He is also a commissioner on the Chatham House Commission for Universal Health and a co-founder of the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa. Additionally, Dr. Oti hosts “MedxTek Africa”; a popular podcast highlighting digital health and health technology innovations from across the African continent. In 2020, Dr. Oti co-founded the Global Health Decolonisation Movement in Africa – a professional network that is seeking to mobilize a critical mass of African voices to speak out about what we perceive as the manifestations of coloniality in global health. The movement’s mission strongly aligns with the Africa CDC’s call for a “New Public Health Order”.
Resources:
https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Y1FlZxEAAEolDkdA
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/development-co-operation-report-2023_2c087f8b-en
https://academic.oup.com/isq/article/66/1/sqab092/6473249
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Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Audio Production and social media marketing: Diana Nkhoma
Research intern: Chisomo Mwale
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
In today’s episode, we discuss genetic research as it pertains to the African genome. Joining us today to talk about this topic is world-renowned geneticist, Ambroise Wonkam.
Ambroise Wonkam is a Professor of Genetic Medicine and director of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Professor Wonkam received medical training from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Yaoundé I. He completed a thesis in Medical Sciences from the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He has also received training as a specialist medical geneticist from the University of Switzerland.
Professor Wonkam is a well-seasoned researcher, with more than 190 peer-reviewed publications. His research interests hone in on 1) Genomics modifiers of sickle cell disease (SCD); 2) Genetics of hearing loss, and 3) Ethical and educational issues in human genetics in Africa. Over the past 10 years, Prof. Wonkam has successfully led numerous NIH- and Wellcome Trust–funded projects, accounting for about 20 million USD. His research projects span several countries across Africa including Tanzania, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Mali, Sudan, Rwanda, and Ghana.
Additionally, Professor Wonkam serves as president of the African Society of Human Genetics, the chair of the steering committee of H3 Africa, a board member of the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies, a steering committee member of the Global Genetic Medicine Collaborative (G2MC), and a faculty scholar of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). Furthermore, he is the associate editor of the American Journal of Human Genetics, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, and the Journal of Community Genetics, the academic editor of PLoS One, and a member of the editorial board of Human Genetics.Links/References:
Five Priorities of African Genomics Research: The Next Frontier
Ambroise Wonkam, Nchangwi S. Munung, Collet Dandara, Kevin K. Esoh, Neil A. Hanchard, Guida Landoure
Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics 2022 23:1, 499-521
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-genom-111521-102452
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Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
This is the first episode of a six-episode series that we will be realising once a month for the next six months. This special series is thankfully supported by the "Promoting Decolonization using innovative knowledge practices" grant hosted by the Center for Tropical Medicine and Global Health of Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Medicine. In these six episodes, we will showcase the contributions of six African global health leaders.
Our first guest in this series is Raoul Kamadjeu, a physician, co-founder, and managing editor of the Pan African Medical Journal. He is driven in all his projects by a simple motto - Start small, but think big! He got his doctorate in Medicine in Cameroon and completed his MPH in Belgium (Université Libre de Bruxelles). He experienced the broad spectrum of public health practice, from the district in Cameroon to international arenas with the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He worked with the CDC from 2004 to 2006 as Public Health Informatics Fellow and from 2007 to 2014 as a medical epidemiologist. He currently works for UNICEF HQ (Public Health Emergencies) and is a Ph.D. candidate (Epidemiology), with the City University of New York (CUNY), Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. His expertise spans fields as varied as epidemiology, biostatistics, informatics, communication, computer programming, and project management.
Follow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh), LinkedIn (Global Health Unfiltered!), and Instagram (@ghunfiltered).
Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Audio editing and social media marketing: Diana Nkhoma
Research intern: Chisomo Mwale
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Welcome back to a new year and a new season of global health unfiltered! Thank you to all the fans who tuned in last year and continue to listen in. One of the goals of the show is to highlight African global health leaders who are leading public health initiatives on the continent and we have just one such leader to open our season. We are so excited to have host Prof. Salome Maswime, joining us from Cape Town South Africa.
Salome Maswime is Professor and the Head of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and is the President of the South African Clinician Scientists Society. She was the Discovery MGH research fellow in 2018 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and a former lecturer at the Wits University. Salome is from Limpopo province, South Africa. After qualifying as a medical doctor at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Maswime completed a Fellowship and a Masters in Medicine degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a PhD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She has worked in various hospitals in South Africa, including the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg for approximately 10 years.
She is a global surgery expert with significant research contributions on access to quality obstetrics care in Ghana. She is an advocate for women’s health rights, and equity in surgical and maternal care. She is an advisor and consultant to several institutions, including the World Health Organization and the Global Surgery Foundation. She has received numerous awards for her tenacity and commitment to maternal health, and for ongoing research in maternal health.
Relevant Readings
Improving surgical and medical outcomes, beyond maternal mortality
Follow Prof. Maswime on Twitter: @MrsMaswime
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Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Audio editing and social media marketing: Diana Nkhoma
Research intern: Chisomo Mwale
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Welcome to the final episode of our first season. In this episode, Ulrick converses with Dr. Yap Boum about the importance of identifying and supporting African solutions and innovations to global health challenges. They discuss lessons on African innovation during covid-19, the importance of African-led research, and a new innovation called The Village.
Professor Yap Boum II is the Executive Director of the Institute Pasteur of Bangui in Central Africa Republic and the former Regional Representative for Epicentre in Africa, the research arm of Medécins sans Frontieres (MSF). He has implemented several studies on tuberculosis, malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Ebola, COVID-19 in Uganda, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon among others. Boum teaches Public Health and Microbiology at Mbarara University of Sciences and Technology (Uganda) where he has a professorship and at the Universities of Virginia (UVa) and the University ofYaoundé I (Cameroon). He has held an array of leadership and advisory positions on national and international scales. Presently, Boum serves on the International Editorial Board of The Lancet Global Health. Boum is also co-founder of Kmerpad, a nonprofit that developed washable sanitary pads to empower women, allow them to fully participate in their education, and to limit the waste generated by the use of non-reusable sanitary pads. He has also a co-founder of iDocta, a digital platform that takes healthcare services to the community. He recently started Homegrown Solutions for Africa (HS4Africa) which aims to promote the creation of a critical mass of young Africans to find homegrown and innovative solutions for addressing the social and public health challenges Africa's faces. The Village digital platform is the new development of HS4Africa that will brake the barriers and connect scientists to transform Global Health As an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow, Boum is inspired by the vision of a healthy and wealthy Africa.
Relevant readings:
- Who is telling the story? A systematic review of authorship for infectious disease research conducted in Africa, 1980–2016
- Is Africa part of the partnership?
- Advancing equitable global health research partnerships in Africa
Follow Yap Boum on Twitter:
Follow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh), LinkedIn (Global Health Unfiltered!), and Instagram (@ghunfiltered).
Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Audio editing and social media marketing: Yvan Zolo
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Welcome, everyone. In this episode, we discuss how global health conference locations influence power dynamics and representation.
Unfortunately, global health conference locations serve as an uncharacteristic, perennial, and highly effective gatekeeping mechanism.
This “Berlin wall” keeps low- and middle-income country (LMIC) researchers outside global health decision rooms allowing LMIC researchers to face numerous challenges in attending these events, notably visas and costs.
Our co-host, Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye, has encountered these challenges, and he shared his experience in a BMJ op-ed and co-authored a BMJ article exploring LMIC representations at global health conferences.
Readings:
Read Ulrick’s articles: Visas for global health events—too many are losing their seat at the table and Conference equity in global health: a systematic review of factors impacting LMIC representation at global health conferences.
Follow Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye on Twitter: @ulricksidney
Follow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh), LinkedIn (Global Health Unfiltered!), and Instagram (@ghunfiltered).
Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Audio editing and social media marketing: Yvan Zolo
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Welcome to our tenth episode!! Many have expressed deep frustrations about the lack of representation of people from the "Global South" on decision-making tables including decisions around research priority, programs, policies, and funding. Our guest today shares her experience and opinions on the matter. Lazenya Weekes-Richemond worked in global health for 14 years before deciding to leave her career in global health. As a black woman working on behalf of black and brown people in a predominantly white-led sector, Lazenya’s work now focuses on disrupting the status quo, calling out neo-colonial practices within international development, and offering solutions to redress power imbalances and inequities. She seizes every opportunity to bring attention to health disparities affecting black and brown populations. We are glad that she has seized this opportunity to come on the Global Health Unfiltered Podcast to share her perspective on how to address power imbalances in global health.
Readings:
Read Lazenya's blog here:
Why I left my career in Global Health, Plos blogs, 29th March 2022
Connect with Lazenya: rethinkingglobalhealth.com
Follow Lazenya Weekes-Richemond on Twitter: @LazenyaRFollow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh) and Instagram (@ghunfiltered)
Keep up with us on Twitter: @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
Infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV remain major causes of death and disability in Africa accounting for about 1.2 million deaths every year in Africa. By 2050, it is estimated that up to 4 million deaths could occur on the continent due to emergent infectious pathogens and increasing antimicrobial resistance. The covid-19 pandemic has revealed uncomfortable realities about the state of public health institutions in Africa. This reality led Dr. John Nkengasong, the then Director of the Africa CDC to declare that “in order to secure its future and guarantee its development, Africa will need a new public health order to address infectious disease threats and the overall syndemic in the 21st century”. In this episode, we talk about this New Public Health Order for Africa with two global health experts who have written extensively on this topic, Dr. Ebere Okereke and Sheila Mburu from the Tony Blair Institute.
Readings:
Read Ebere and Sheila's articles
A New Public-Health Order for Africa: What and why?
A New Public-Health Order for Africa: Why Public-Health Institutions Are the Foundations of Strong Health Systems
Follow Ebere Okereke on Twitter: @DrEmereumJnr
Follow Sheila Mburu on Twitter: @Mburu_HealthFollow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh) and Instagram (@ghunfiltered)
Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
In this episode, we discuss words. Not just any words but words we use in global health to classify countries and people. Words like global North, global South, HIC, LMIC, developing and developed countries, first and third world. If you work in global health on international development, chances are that you have used at least one or several of those terms. But these terms that we use to classify countries and people carry with them certain assumptions and implications. Our guest is Themrise Khan, an independent development professional, and researcher with over 25 years of practitioner and policy-based experience in international development, aid effectiveness, gender, and global migration. She has co-authored an editorial in BMJ-Global Health called "How we classify countries and people—and why it matters". We spoke with her about the various terms we use to classify people and their implications for global health and international development.
We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe and share with your friends and family. We apologize for the quality of the sound at certain parts of the interview, these were primarily due to poor internet connectivity. We will continue to work to improve the quality of our productions for you.
Readings:
Read Themrise's editorial: https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/6/e009704
Follow Themrise on Twitter: @ThemriseFollow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh) and Instagram (@ghunfiltered)
Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Artwork: Chidiebere Ibe
Theme music: Antidote by Ketsa
"Every narration places the spectator in a position of agency" - Manthia Diawara
In this episode, we discuss equity in global health research with Dr. Seye Abimbola. Seye is a senior lecturer at the University of Sidney and editor-in-chief of BMJ Global Health. He is an advocate for the decolonization of global health and has written and spoken extensively on the subject globally. We discuss, among other things, the definition of global health, the problem of gaze and pose, global health funding, building research capacity locally and advice for young global health researchers.
We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe and share with your friends and family.
Readings
Abimbola S. The foreign gaze: authorship in academic global health. BMJ Global Health
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e002068
Abimbola, S., & Pai, M. (2020). Will global health survive its decolonisation?. Lancet (London, England), 396(10263), 1627-1628.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32417-X/fulltext
Follow Seye Abimbola on Twitter: @seyeabimbola
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Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Every year, 1.3 million people die from road traffic accidents and millions more are injured. Despite having only about 60% of the global vehicle fleet, low and middle-income countries account for 93% of all deaths from road traffic accidents. Designing roads that take into account safety can prevent road crashes and save lives. In this episode, we discuss why many roads in Africa often do not take into account all aspects of safety and what can be done to change this. Our guest is Etta Madete, a Nairobi based human-centerd design Architect at BuildXStudio and also an avid road safty design advocate. She was recently featured in a BBC Africa Eye document about "Kenya's Killer Road".
Etta Madete on BBC Africa Eye: https://youtu.be/papUXpLXf8I
Follow Etta Madete on Twitter @EttaMadete
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Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many predicted that the impact of the disease in Africa would be catastrophic. However, it seems the pandemic did not pan out as predicted. In this episode, we unpack how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out on the African continent with Dr. Ngozi Erondu, a trained epidemiologist and global health security expert. We discuss the scale of the COVID-19 impact in Africa, challenges in disease surveillance, the response of public health authorities, public health leadership, vaccine equity, and more.
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Learn more about Dr. Ngozi Erondu's work at ngozierondu.com and follow her on Twitter (@udnore)
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Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
This week we shine the spotlight on our very own co-host Dr. Ella Amoako. Ella is a pediatric oncology fellow at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. We discuss Ella's inspiring journey to becoming a pediatrician in Ghana, the challenges she's faced in providing pediatric oncology care in Ghana, and how she continues to advocate for children with cancer. She believes that geography should not be a determinant for survival for pediatric cancer patients. Listen to hear more about her journey.
As always thank you for your support.
Follow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh) and Instagram (@ghunfiltered)
Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
The opportunity to dream as a child can be a powerful thing. In this episode, we converse with Dr. Teddy Totimeh, a neurosurgeon at the University of Ghana Medical Center in Accra, about the opportunities he had as a child that enabled him to dream about becoming a neurosurgeon and the many enablers, including mentors and teachers, that helped him to make that dream a reality. We also discuss the challenges of teaching and practicing surgery in Ghana and what it will take to change the status quo in Ghana and Africa.
Teddy Totimeh's book, Aluta Insomnia can be found on amazon and abebooks.
Follow us on Twitter (@unfiltered_gh) and Instagram (@ghunfiltered)
Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Dr. Yaw Bediako is the founder and CEO of Yemaachi, a biotechnology company in Ghana which aims to accelerate the development of cancer detection and cure strategies in Africa using cutting-edge immunogenetics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence. We discuss his vision for Yemaachi, challenges faced and lessons learned as well as problems in global health research.
Learn more about Yemaachi Biotechnology at yemaachi.com or @yemaachibio on Twitter
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Keep up with us on Twitter @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and @Drellaamoako
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Welcome to Global Health Unfiltered, a podcast about unspoken realities and stories in Africa and the world. In this episode, you'll get to meet your hosts, Ella Amoako, Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye, and Desmond Jumbam. We discuss our reasons for starting this podcast and touch on topics that we will dive further into in the upcoming episodes. This includes the challenges of practicing medicine and public health in Africa, medical education, the so-called brain drain, and neocolonialism in global health. Most importantly, our aim is to shed light on stories and realities that are often left out of mainstream global health discourse, away from the foreign gaze. Thank you for joining us today and we hope you enjoy the show.
Keep up with us on Twitter @unfiltered_gh @desmondtanko @ulricksidney and Drellaamoako
Also, find us on Instagram @ghunfiltered
Contact us unfilteredgh@gmail.com
Welcome to the Global Health Unfiltered Podcast, a podcast about untold stories and realities in Africa and the world. Join us every two weeks as we discuss important global health topics with guests from across Africa and the World.
Hosts: Ella Amoako, Desmond Jumbam, Ulrick Sydney Kanmounye
Contact us: unfilteredgh@gmail.com