From passport and diaspora privilege, how do we ensure we are contributing to positive changes?

I hope everyone has been having a great January and start to the year. My first post of the year is a reflection.

Flyer stating "I have been selected" — Selection Flyer for the Africa CDC 2022 Youth Pre-Conference

Flyer courtesy of Twitter

As someone interested in contributing to health security and strengthening health systems on the African continent, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my role in public health systems on the continent as someone in the diaspora. We may see ourselves as a 'double agent', knowing well our home country's context but also being accustomed to systems outside of the continent. This puts us in a unique position to communicate in both contexts. As someone in the diaspora, I recognize that my voice will never be the same as someone who grew up and works on the continent. I was conscious of this as I was selected to attend the Africa CDC 2022 Youth Pre-Conference to the Conference of Public Health in Africa. That being said, the African Union recognizes the diaspora as a 6th region, so being a part of the diaspora or not, we all have a role to play in shaping the future of our continent's health system.

My question to Dr. @Chikwe_I asked by Dr. Oluwafunmilola Dare: What advice do you have for people (especially the African diaspora) trying to establish National Health Institutes in our countries that do not have any? #CPHIA2021 @AfricaCDC (1/2) pic.twitter.com/eZeSdPu3LH
— Jonta Kamara, MPH (@Jonta_Kam) December 15, 2021

From passport and diaspora privilege, how do we ensure we are contributing to positive changes? I recognize that I have a very different perspective on health issues on the continent and I am bringing health knowledge which also has its issues. Below are some ways that I try to be more conscious of my position and role.

Reflective: As an individual interested in public/global health, I question my privilege and role as someone in the diaspora coming back home. When doing public health work whether in your country or another, it is important to be reflective on your position to the community you are working with. This involves looking more beyond yourself but also at where you received your education and historical relationships that may have existed between your country of education and the country you are going to.
Listening: I ensure that I listen to people, as there is a lot to learn from people's lived experiences. I recognize that my work on the continent has largely been through online research. This provides me with a very different understanding of health issues from someone who has experienced these issues in their day-to-day lives. Recognizing this and making sure we listen to communities is very important and we value lived experiences. Given people’s day-to-day experience, they are best positioned to provide solutions.
Checking myself: Recognize that just because I have lived outside of the continent and I have received my education outside of the continent, I am not more qualified and experienced. I also recognize biases that I may have and how this impacts how I interact with others. Another aspect is to think about the images you take and how they are shared.

The inequities in the global/public health field are increasingly being recognized and there are efforts to 'decolonize global health.' We can all play a role in how we conduct our own global/public health work and how we use our privilege to give voices and space to people who are largely ignored. Though this step might be small, I think it will have an impact on changing how we conduct global/public health work.

As someone in the diaspora, I recognize that I also need to be reflective as to how people are used to promoting global health trips and initiatives, especially when we consider privacy.

Resources

This is not an extensive list, but here are some resources to read and reflect on this topic:

US malaria project attacked as ‘scientific colonialism’ (Feb. 2021) By Linda Nordling
The coin model of privilege and critical allyship: implications for health (Dec. 2019) by Stephanie Nixon
The foreign gaze: authorship in academic global health (Oct. 2019) by Seye Abimbola

Please read my new editorial in @GlobalHealthBMJ "The foreign gaze: authorship in academic global health" https://t.co/TrJgruKKAL

It's the first in a series of 5 papers on equity, diversity and inclusiveness of editorial boards and of authorship in academic #globalhealth 1/5
— Ṣẹ̀yẹ Abímbọ́lá (@seyeabimbola) October 18, 2019