International public health as a discipline evolved from military and colonialist causes in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We reflect this heritage when we speak of immunization campaigns, target groups, or an armamentarium of interventions. Over the past five decades, the discipline emerged in its own right, shaped by changing perspectives on development in general and expanding to embrace a broader range of approaches and perspectives. While scholarly theories of development evolved rapidly, they failed to provide a useful framework for effective public health action on a large scale. At the same time, those who work in international public health have distanced themselves from theoretical discussion in order to concentrate on more practical issues of public health delivery. As a result, international public health successes have become more and more limited both in impact and in geographic reach. In the absence of a more current and stable unifying theoretical perspective, neocolonialist approaches have found advocates among international public health officials eager to achieve measurable impact.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize the influence of colonialism in current international health programs 2. Identify the current problems in international public health due to this history 3. Discuss new paradigms in international health to counteract this history
Keywords: International Health, Public Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.