Decolonizing Global Health Through Promoting Traditional Knowledge

Decolonizing global health is a rising movement that seeks to eliminate power disparities and challenge traditional Western-centric approaches to global health. Colonial powers dominated global health throughout colonialism by building a medical system that served their interests, frequently using it as a tool for social control and cultural assimilation. Colonial regimes disrupted indigenous health practices and introduced Western pharmaceuticals, which usually ignored indigenous knowledge and customs. They had historically ignored local people’s traditional medical practices and, at times, persecuted indigenous health practitioners (Packard et al., 2003)[1]. However, there was the exception too. British doctors in colonized India used local expertise to detect local illnesses and manufactured medications using indigenous plants and herbs (Packard et al., 2003)[2]. Thus, on one hand, colonialism destroyed traditional healthcare practices in many regions and on the other hand they used indigenous knowledge and health practices in the development of health care.