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Um Welcome everybody um to this evening session. My apologies um that Gemma doesn't appear to be here, but that's ok. We've got a really good session for you today. So Od Prince has really very kindly joined us to talk about this really important topic of identifying, understanding and deconstructing colonial narratives within medicine and health and with all of her massive experience in terms of research around this area, I'm really excited to hear what she's got to share with us. Um My name is Becky. I'm one of the um deputy conveners of the International Child Health Group and I, yeah, it's my real privilege to welcome you and to welcome Modine to share with her. Um She has to share and if you have questions, please do pop them in the chat and we'll, we'll tackle them towards the end. Um And yeah, any comments, questions, it would be really good to learn about this together. Um Apologies that my camera is not working. I would usually like to um welcome you with a smiley face, but sorry about that. So with no um no further ado I'll, I'll introduce the that you take the stage and go from there. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Becky. Um So yes, II am going to be starting with this discussion. Um It's more so um initially I started this topic with regards to um colon narratives within medicine health. I started it um as more of a seminar type of um presentation. But hopefully today, towards the end, we can be a bit more interactive. So I've checked that my, my screen has been shared. So that should be fine. So yes. Um Good evening everybody. I am a Dain principal, like be he said, and um I did a Master of Laws at the University of Leeds and I specialized in International Law and um global Governors. And while I was doing my masters, I sort of um took on a research placement with the Leeds Institute of Teaching Excellence with regards to um sort of analyzing professional statutory and regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom, as well as higher education institutions in the United Kingdom with regards to their colonial nature. And so it was from, it was from this, this um this research basement that I became interested in colonial narratives as it pertained to medicine and health because my research placement was very stem specific. Um So I became involved in this field and I've been working with the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds to sort of produce a framework or an esource to sort of guide or help guide um discussions around colon narratives within medicine and health and how the, the the school of medicine can work towards a decolonization of its curriculum. Before I moved here to the UK, I lived in Cape Town, South Africa and um I was born in Nigeria. So there's those countries of both, you know, former colonies. And so I've always been cognizant of, you know, colonial narratives, colonial influences and I've been conscious of colonial legacies and sort of interested in these kind of um matters. So I do hope that today, you find this um you know, this presentation very informative and um I hope it leaves you with a better awareness of certain colonial undertones that are present within medicine and health. So to start with um the first part of this research, research or not, research, the first part of this presentation focuses on identifying colonial narratives within medicine and health. So we would then have to obviously define um certain terms um related to colonial narratives. So that would be colonization, decolonization, postcolonial and neoc colonization. So um to be brief in my definitions, um colonization sort of refers or entails the controlled domination and subjugation of one group of people of of one power, usually a foreign entity over another autonomous um territory of people. And during this process, the language and culture, values of the acting oppressor are usually imposed on the other. And this is evident in Francophone speaking, West Africa versus the Anglophone speaking West African countries. You can see how um colonialism has impacted the use of language in, in, in these regions. Although, you know, they're in the same, they're in the same area before we, before we continue, I do just want to point out that um I am aware of the spheres of colonization that you know, takes place globally in continents like Asia and South America. But due to my research scope and for the purpose of this discussion, I just uh will primarily focus on colonial narratives as it sort of refers and pertains to sub Saharan Africa. So some people, you know, like to ask what distinguishes colonization so much from slavery or the slave trade. Besides, you know, the obvious differences in time periods and geographical settings. So my answer is usually that slavery was primarily an export of African labor, which is um and it was primarily West African labor. If you look at the transatlantic slave trade, while colonization, on the other hand, is the export of um African resources or what's the export of African resources to the Americas and many Eurocentric zones. So it is key to know that while colonization um that, well, yeah, it's not that both colonization um and racism are sort of um complementary terms, they're not synonymous. So um it's because colonization sort of deals with the subjugation of entities and territories. Um and also sort of the subrogation of existing consciousness within these um within these entities and territories by entrenching and anti-black rhetoric. Um So they are complementary but not necessarily um interchangeable if that makes sense. Um Racism is prevalent in um the in colonization and was very prevalent during the colonial period. But um they do refer to very separate things. It is also important to know the colonization while being racist was also extremely patriarchal. So, so today, we even see the domination of White male. Um We see the domination of knowledge and power stemming from, you know, the white male perspective, um both within the African continent and even in Western society like United Kingdom. Um if you look at um which I'll show later on, even um the Royal College um as it pertains to um pediatrics and the founding parts are of the, of the Royal College um were primarily White um White men, uh Even the Geological Society has the same founding. So it's very important to know that yes, um colonization was racist, but it was also sexually uh patriarchal decolonization. On the other hand, referred to the process of challenging colonization and to some extent, um um and to some extent, um people include um a cultural mental um and economic and political freedom. They attach that to decolonization um within this talk, decolonization um should also be noted as sort of the pursuit of redressing colonial practices and pursuing knowledge that sort of transcends um colonial influences. So, in essence, it should prompt us to think about how we think and why we think that way um of time after decolonization has occurred. So currently, um you know, sub Saharan Africa would be considered to be existing in its postcolonial era near colonization. On the other hand, sort of exist within the postcolonial era. And as its name suggests, from the word Neo, it refers to new forms of colonization. And this is um primarily seen with the dependency of development of African nations on um you know, developed nations of the West. So for instance, you have a country like Congo that is very rich in raw materials, they then export these raw materials at very low prices and they import these raw materials when they become finished goods at very high prices. So a country like Congo is then unable to sort of um build up its secondary or tertiary sectors. Um keeping it in a, a sort of dependency of development. Neocolonialism can also include the sign of African relations that exist between China and Africa. And how um you know, China is sort of um using a method of infrastructure development financing to gain access to African markets. Um you know, to sell, you know, certain goods and services. So more definitions would include, you know, that of race, ethnicity, nationality, culture and heritage. For time's sake, I can't really divulge fully into, into all of these um and sort of different frames that exist around race, ethnicity, nationality and culture and heritage. But for now, I can at least point out that race is constructed and it's constructed along the lines of an other. So, in, in the, so social scientist like myself, we are very familiar with the work with Edwards. He was a, a social anthropologist. And um basically, he had this idea that um he had this concept of the other and it's basically an idea that um whiteness and blackness are sort of been framed. Um It is the idea that whiteness was constructed as a contrast um of the other, the other being blackness. Um And in the same way that how that was how blackness was sort of constructed and what being black meant was based off on what being white meant. Um Neither concepts can sort of exist without the other in the same way, you know, night and day, need each other for the correct identification. So, you know, there's a lack of day um because it's not night and, you know, it's night because um it's not day um because there isn't any day and there isn't any sunshine. So, but to be less theoretical and philosophical about it and to be more concise, um just know that race does refer to the concept of dividing people into groups um on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics and the presence of ascribing social meaning to these groups while ethnicity. On the other hand, describes a culture of people in a given geographic region, including their language, heritage, religion and customs. So it is important to note and to be aware of these differences for the duration of this um discussion or this um presentation. Because later on, we'll see how race plays a role within medicine and health and the historical dehumanization of black bodies. So the learning objectives before we move on to the next part of this um presentation, the learning objectives are to, you know, understand systemic re entrenchment of colonialism within medicine and health in the in um United Kingdom and wider Europe. To learn about the colonial histories of professional statutory and regulatory bodies within the field, within the medical field in the UK and the implications on current practice to gain insight and critically analyze the dehumanization and other of non-white bodies within medical narratives and practices. To be able to identify and deconstruct the colonial narratives that exist within the field of medicine and health and to develop strategies and facilitate discussions on how to address and decolonize the lingering effect of colonial narratives within present day medical practices and health policies which um I hope we'll be able to discuss um later on towards the end of this talk. So moving on the next part of this, this question um talks about and perhaps the most um lengthy, lengthy part of this discussion talks about understanding colonial narratives um within medicine and health. So in order to discuss, you know, colonial narratives within medicine and health. The concept of eugenics and scientific racism does need to be pointed out. So, eugenic eugenics refers to using pseudoscience to promote racial purity and time breeding. It is a concept that's rooted in social darwinism, which in itself promoted the idea of survival of the fittest, which was the idea that certain people became, you know, more powerful in society because they were innately innately better. Now, many of us are aware of the prominence of eugenics during the Holocaust, which saw, you know, the systemic examination of European Jews by Nazi Germany between 1941 to 1945. However, I am sure that um some of us are unaware of the 1904 to 1908 genocide of the hero and the number of people in German and Southwest Africa, which is today known as Namibia. So, and this is mainly because in 2001, it was only then that Germany actually officially um you know, acknowledged that they had committed a genocide during its colonial application of Namibia. And they then announced that, you know, they would be um given a financial aid worth of €1.1 billion which is about 940 million lbs. Um This genocide occurred over 100 years ago and has, you know, been called the first genocide of the 20th century and it resulted in the killing of over 80% of the hero and the Nama population at the time. Um And so I have an ex, an ex uh an ex excerpt um from um from a, a scholar that says the German German experts believe that the genocide of the hero and Nama people foreshadow night to ideology and the holocaust during Germany's occupation of Namibia. German colonial officers studying eugenics are believed to have developed ideas about racial purity and the mixing of races. 100s of scars of here and number of people were sent to Germany for examination and measuring in recent years, some have been returned to Namibia in one of the most emotional and contentious aspects of the history of this genocide. So this example of the hi and and na of people, it sort of brings forth to light, you know, issues to be discussed later on. Um firstly, the rational light and authority that's bestowed or that has historically been bestowed upon white men. And secondly, the treatment of black bodies um in this case, that happened in Namibia also comments on the disregard for black bodies and reflects the earlier case of a lady called Sad Batman, um also known as Sarah Batman, also known as the Venous Hotton Cotton in 1815. So she was a South African woman whose body was examined by scientists. Um George's career to falsely sort of indicate um you know, the primitive sexual appetite of African woman. Um You know, it is clear from So these examples that Western scientific enlightenment has roots in races and harmful practices. Although these practices do not appear to be as extreme in modern society, the undertones are still present. So to give a more modern example, we can look at the case of Henriette Lax. Um So Lax died in 1951 and she was age 31. She died of sort of an aggressive cervical cancer. Now, months earlier, the doctors that were treating her at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, they did um you know, they took samples of her cancerous cells while diagnosing and treating the the disease. They then gave that tissue to a researcher without Lax's knowledge um or, or her consent only to find out later on that her cells um you know, have turned out to be extraordinary and um they have the capacity to survive and reproduce. They will uh you know, in essence immortal and the work done with um you know, the healer cells as they are known as sort of underpins much of modern medicine. They have been involved in key discoveries in many fields including cancer, immunology and infectious disease. Uh One of the most important applications um has been in the research for, you know, COVID-19 um vaccines. So to follow on um the British Empire because this is primarily looking um at the UK context and at the European context, um the British Empire, you know, existed for centuries. Um and in order to sustain its colonial mandate, we can see an instance where or we see many instances where the advancement of medicine was attached to colonial interests. So we start off with Doctor Ronald Ross, right. He was a British doctor who made great strides in the treatment of malaria. Now, regardless of the historical account, that sort of surrounds this discovery or the or the, you know, the treatment of malaria, common sense alone tells us that um malaria was not a prevalent issue in the United Kingdom or um in Britain as a result of the climate, instead, malaria was present and is still present in, you know, many tropical and subtropical regions, which is where, you know, British colonies were. So this advancement in malaria treatment was primarily aimed at improving the health of British troops. And by extension, expanded Britain's colonial rule um through territorial infringement and occupation. As such discoveries within medicine, health can be stated as having somewhat of an instrumental value for the colonial era. Um Recently, we have we saw library, library staff at the Royal Society of Biology, you know, noting the endeavors towards updating their catalog because, you know, they had found that their founding fathers um were connected to colonialism, slavery and scientific racism. And they wanted these, these type of um how um harmful, harmful individual individuals were harmful, whose ideas at the time were harmful and are harmful. Now, um they wanted to be easily identified So, um they sort of created a catalog to make it easier to be able to um you know, find, find um different instances of scientific racism that is embedded within the uh Royal Society of Biology as opposed to, you know, hiding it or sweeping it under the rug. Like some other, you know, societies do tend to do um these endeavors by the Royal Society of Biology can sort of be considered as an acknowledgment that certain scientific interests within the field of biology supported the colonial project of aspiration and expansion. As well as recognizing that the role of, you know, indigenous people in providing knowledge uh to the findings of European scientists. Now, additionally, we have the British Pharmacological Society um which also shows the prevalence, which also shows the prevalence of colonial narrative related to medicine and health. So, the British Pharmacological Society was founded in 1931 and reflects the previous notions um or scientific racism that I've mentioned. Firstly, it is important to note that the pharmacological field as a whole is um quite a problematic field um in relation to racism and inequality at large. In addition, it has um you know, been stated by experts that the pharma pharmacological sphere functions on medicine generated within and redefined by the process and experience of colonization. Um If we look at the COVID-19 um era, we saw um during the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, it was suggested by a French doctor um II put the a screenshot over here. Um It was suggested by a French doctor, Doctor Jean Paul Mira that medical and clinical trials regarding Co Coronavirus drug testing ought to be conducted on individuals in Africa. And this form of medical racism sort of echoes the medical trials conducted in Africa by pharmaceutical company pfizer in 1996. Once again, what we see is the implication or what we see from these cases is um you know, fetid and dehumanization of black bodies for scientific and medical experiments. Um So, you know, in in publicizing the British Pharmacological Society for its colonial nature, it is also important to, you know, discuss a complementary organization that sort of perpetuates colonial legacies and continued functioning. So that would be the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine En Hygiene, which is founded in um I believe it was founded in 1907. Like I previously mentioned, the United Kingdom does not have a tropical climate and as you can see here um in areas that are in red, those are subtropical um regions. So the UK does not have a tropical tropical climate. Um and in a the tropical medicine and hygiene that the society aimed to, you know, address or initially address, although not explicitly stated, refers to the tropical climates of British colonies in the Caribbean and Africa. And this is in line with the definition of the real society of tropical medicine and hygiene as and I quote, an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur, uniquely, are more widespread or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Now, although the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and hygiene states that it has been dedicated to global health since 1907, um it is essential to know that the findings of the society were initially beneficial um to the health of British British soldiers and Imperialists in order to aid colonial expansion, any benefit individuals in the colonies. Um uh sort of a direct benefit. And we can see this because case studies from the Caribbean, West Africa and India, sort of highlight implications of diseases such as yellow fever, um malaria and typhoid on British Imperialists and soldiers and the vigorous vaccination campaigns gear towards and eradication of these diseases as a as a result of the high fa um fatality um or high mortality rates that um it had on British troops. So these campaigns were primarily conducted to mitigate the threats to the health of travelers and settlers. And as a byproduct then reduced the occurrence of tropical disease in respective um colonies. Now returning to a more contemporary contemporary discussion, we can look at the impact of colon colonization and Western influence on the feasibility of, you know, traditional medicine in Africa, specifically. So traditional medicine also known as eno medicine, folk medicine, native healing or complementary and alternative medicine. Um sort of refers to the ancient or refers to various ancient and culture bound methods of healing that people have used to cope and deal with various diseases that have threatened their existence and survival. So, according to the World Health Organization, and I've heard um traditional medicine is the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. So, indigenous medicine or sorry, indigenous African communities rather um in these um communities, there are traditional doctors who are well known for treating patients holistically, right? But the introduction of Western medicine and culture sort of give rise a cultural and ideological ash which then creates a somewhat of an unequal power relationship um that's undermined and stigmatized traditional, you know, healthcare systems in Africa because of the overriding power of Western medicine. So this became manifested in South Africa during the apartheid regime which saw the banning of traditional medicine by the South African Medical Association which outlawed traditional medical um system in 1953. So scholars discussing the negative impact of colonialism on traditional medicine in South Africa, they have stated that a century of colonialism, cultural imperialism and apartheid in South Africa have held back the development of African traditional healthcare in general and medicines in particular during several centuries of conquest and invasions European systems on medicine were introduced by colonizers. Pre-existing African systems were stigmatized and marginalized. Indigenous knowledge systems were denied the chance to systemized and develop. So, you know, traditional medicine was not given a chance to develop the way modern medicine or we now call mo modern medicine has um been given much, you know, has developed. So it is clear that the institute, the institutionalization of the modern healthcare system can be seen as one of the many legacies of Western encroachment in Africa, whether it yields um you know, positive positive results in the introduction of quiNINE to stem. Um you know, to sort of um what's the word to stem the the scr of um malaria or whether it yielded, you know, negative effects in the, you know, the sideline of traditional medicine, we can still see that it is a still a legacy of Western encroachment in Africa um seen as we are currently in the math or in the aftermath rather of um the global scare. Um the COVID-19 pandemic, it is all it is only right to mention the pandemic and its powerful undertones that were present within this period. So in December 2021 the UK sort of produced a travel restriction red list and that list was critiqued to have been an a to have been anti-black. Um You know, various African leaders from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa publicly condemned the harsh restrictions imposed on African nations by the list. There's some people like myself, the red list was a subtle embodiment of, you know, the everpresent race relations within international relations and, you know, sort of legitimize the claim, sort of legitimize um certain racial biases that already existed within the international um within international affairs, at least. So to, to further legitimize um what I'm saying, it was noted that European countries which had detected the omicron variant within their population, you know, they were excused from the red list. While South Africa, the country that had actually informed the global community of the variant was placed on the red list despite already taking measures to respond to the variant ahead of the UK and other European nations. So the hum of the list was further noted by the World Health Organization which stated that, you know, blanket travel bans will not stop the spread of variants and can potentially and can potentially, you know, discourage countries from reporting and sharing important data. So United Nations um General Secretary Antonio Guerre sort of labeled the list as somewhat of a travel apartheid. And Nigeria's high commissioner to the UK at the time SAFA to sort of reiterated this point by saying that, you know, the travel ban is apartheid in the sense that we're not dealing with an endemic, we're dealing with a pandemic. And whenever we have a challenge, there must be um collaboration. So we can see colonial narratives are racial under terms within medicine and health, not just um with regards to COVID-19, but even with regards to um the HIV AIDS epidemic. So, you know, scholars within this area of expertise, that sort of noted that in its early days, you know, the HIV AIDS epidemic in Africa was sort of used to construct a simplistic view, um a simplistic racial view at that of Africa in the W of Africa, um as a continent that was sort of homogenous, backward, sexually permissive, unpredictable and in need of control advice and help from outside. So there has been a social construction of HIV AIDS in Africa and a social construction of Africa in relation to this um epidemic, um which by which by extension, sort of links to the social construction of race as a definer of the carriers of infection, illnesses and death. So one scholar noted that um and I quote ideas of primitive Africa reinforce the notion that African individuals primarily categorize as being black by race was to be blamed for the spread of a disease that links sex with exotic and erotic behavior. Reinforcing such abuse was the now infamous linking of the Green monkey to the epidemic. The green monkey carries a related but remote version of immune deficiency in the form of the simian immunodeficiency virus. This so the story is told passed from monkey to man and then mutated to become HIV. However, not only did the virus mutate but in so doing, it became as uncontrolled as the sexual behavior of the exotic people of the continent itself. So the virus was transmitted from ape to man through, through primitive practices, blood and ceremonial functions, blood in uncooked monkey flesh, um blood, blood circumcision rights, and maybe even blood through sex. The linking of HIV AIDS um via monkeys to man, sort of resonated deeply with the long held belief that real Africans are lower down on the evolutionary scale and in some ways closer to AIDS and closer than to, to the origins of the virus. So this scholar was all just discussing how um how, you know HIV was sort of constructed um in relation to black people and how black people were then also further constructed, um were then further constructed um as a result of, you know, in relation to rather um HIV and um and AIDS. So apply and understanding of political narratives towards the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health um is also important for this discussion. So, um we need to obviously discuss um because this is um primarily um within the pediatric field, we do need to discuss um you know, the Royal College College of Pediatrics and Child Health as well as larger field of pediatrics in the UK, um which will show a root of knowledge emerging from, you know, the white male perspective, as we can see from this picture of the founding fighters of the British Pediatric Association, which is where um which is where the Royal College of Pedia Peds and Child Health, you know, stem from. So we can see here. Um This was so the Royal College, the, the the college only received um its royal status in 1996. Um prior to that, it was known as the British Pedic Association, I believe. Um So among I CPC HS um stated aim, one of it is to advance with the is to advance with the benefit of the public education in child health and pediatrics and to relieve sickness by promoting improvements in pediatric practice, which means that the college has been involved in campaigns to improve child health, both nationally and globally. Now, there's a direct historical link between periods emerging in the UK and the use of the field as a colonial service instrument to control the narrative of colonialism and to extend the white savior roots of colonialism in order to overall legitimize colonialism. So let's look at them. Um Cecil Del Delphine Williams. So look at the identification of PKO by Cecil Cecily, sorry, CCI Delphine Williams, which is a form of malnutrition that often affects Children in regions where there's famine and limited supply for food. Now, now originally Williams was a pediatrician and working in in the British Gold Coast um colony which is now known as Ghana um in the mid thirties noted a direct correlation between K kioko and malnutrition. However, in an article, um John Knott who is a, a modern historian of medicine, sort of noted that doctors um which included pedi pediatricians um during Britain's colonial, you know, sorry, sorry. Um John North was a historian of medicine so that doctors which included pediatricians um during British colonial dominance over West East and southern Africa, sort of um tended, tended to overlook the, the correlation between malnutrition and um Koko. And what happened is that it was highly, it what happened was and I quote, what he said highly was that um um highly discuss the potential role of colonialism in emergence or increase of Koko. So um basically, he's saying that um pediatricians um highly discussed um the potential of colon in the emergence or increase of ago. Instead, they attributed it similarly similarly to permanent economic and cultural causes, poor soils, economic underdevelopment and general poverty alongside the innate laziness of ethnic groups in the region, lack of education, outdated agricultural methods and a preference for nutritiously poor stable crops such as cassava. Um you know, the approach was to improve agriculture. So basically, they, he's saying that the urge of um you know, colonial powers at the time was instead to improve agriculture and change local food ways rather than remedying the impoverishment of oppressive labor regimes and disruptive um destructive gender balances that as social historians of Africans um have shown colonial rule and you know, capitalism have brought about so notably, um you know, following the outbreak of World War two, you know, the British Periodic Association was, you know, involved in um lobbying central governments for measures to safeguard the health of evacuated Children. And over the years, you know, the BPA agreed to be an organization that actively sought for improvements in child health. Now, this included publishing papers guidelines on clinical practice, um undertaking research and surveillance and organizing and participation in conferences. However, little is noted about the nutritional conditions that were worsened during the Second World War when forced labor and other forms of coercive um or other forms of coercion and forced lab. And um yeah, and forced labor were extended to support the war effort. Um thus causing severe hardship for British colonies and colonial territories in West eastern Southern Africa. So not who I spoke about earlier. So notes the same effect primarily um on the population that was under the harsh colonial rule of Belgium. Now during World war two, Belgium notably joined, you know, the allies, which at the time, well, um included Britain and they joined the allies war effort. And um in addition with its, you know, colonies and sub territories. Um so what you not argued was that the British colonial administration actively contributed to misconstruing Koko as a form of malnutrition because that was easier to blame upon ecological conditions and ingrained African agriculture and nutritional customs as opposed to um attributing it to stemming from a harsh colonial regime. Um which is not to say that Koko does not have um links of malnutrition. But the fact that um why this malnutrition was caused was not um was never acknowledged by colonial regimes. Um The fact that the hardships that came with um with the rule, the colonial rule also had a correlation to the malnourishment that individuals under this rule. Um you know, faced now, additionally, it is important to also discuss the field of pediatrics both in the UK and outside the UK in relation to national organizations such as um you know, Doctors without borders, the World Health Organization and the United Nations International um Children's Emergency Fund, which is UNICEF so in 1996 Nigeria sort of experienced um one of the worst meningitis epidemics in history with over 100 over 100,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. So, bacterial meningitis is an affection of the lining of the brain that is especially um virulent in, you know, in Children at a hospital in Kano, which is in Northern Nigeria. Doctors without borders, treated Children with. Um I believe it's called Clo pol um which was um an antibiotic that was endorsed by the World Health Organization to treat bacterial meningitis. So over the same period, Pfizer, a US pharmaceutical company then tried to launch a new antibiotic drug called Trovan. And while Pfizer had tested this drug on adults, it had not yet tested it on Children. Additionally, when they were testing on adults, it had, it had actually shown that um there was some serious side effects of the drug, including liver problems and cartilage ab abnormalities. Um After learning of the meningitis epidemic, Pfizer then decided to use this as an opportunity to test the efficacy of, you know treatment. It's a new drug, new antibiotic in pediatric settings. So what happened is pfizer set up um a site besides, you know, doctors with our borders, um test testing area. And over two weeks, they selected a sample of 200 Children between three months old and 18 years old to participate. A month later, 11 of the Children, um you know, that had participated, had died and they were dead. Um Additionally, um additionally, a few of them reported um disabilities, um paralysis and um liver failure. So, an investigation by a panel of experts um hired by the Nigerian government found Pfizer to be at fault in the children's deaths and guilty of conducting human trials without informed consent. So this inci incident sort of heightened distrust of communities in West Africa towards vaccination campaigns led by Western nonprofits such as, you know, the global Polio eradication initiative, which aimed at eradicating polio worldwide, world worldwide. And it's important to know that with regard to polio, you know, in um in the early two thousands, Nigeria um held 40% of, you know, the cases in the world of, of polio. So that's a big chunk. Um So for a whole region or you know, whole subgroups to actively not engage in, you know, vaccination campaigns to eradicate, eradicate something that is sort of a threat to global health. Um It shows you how um how the undertones or racial undertones within medicine and health also, you know, affect global health and affect, you know, it, it, it affects um everybody, not just um not just the people that are being, you know, um treated unfairly. So the information is a clear case, like I've said of repercussions of racial undertones in medicine and health and a dehumanization of black bodies and its effect on global health as a whole. This instance sort of reflects the rhetoric surrounding vaccines in black people and their hesitancy to take vaccines. So exploring colonial legacies, the medicine and health has you know, shed light on the dehumanization and other of non-white bodies. So this has become primarily evident in my current role as a modern slavery and anti trafficking senior advocate. Um in this role, I bear witness to the barriers to maternity access amongst migrants and asylums seeking women. So there are a number of factors that contribute to this issue. They range from language proficiency, communication challenges to the education um all the way to the education and knowledge of healthcare professionals and inefficient legislative frameworks. In many cases, the legal status of immigrant women in the UK had a profound influence on their access to maternity care. Women without entitlement to free maternity care. Services in the UK are usually deterred from accessing timely antenatal care by the cost and um by the confidentiality of their, of their legal centers. Additionally, sometimes, you know, representatives of immigration control agencies may, you know, feel obligated to adhere to immigrant rules. Um Immigration rules and um consider the maternity care needs of immigrant women and babies as you know, secondary issue. So I've, I've seen in my role firsthand cases that sort of highlight the disconnect between healthcare services and immigrant patients. And this is because the majority of these women are destitute and maternity services are aware that referrals will need to be made to provide these women with some type of, you know, accommodation, post delivery. However, this is not always the case, what that emerges is a lack of collaboration amongst healthcare services, social services, local councils, which you know, allows for these women and their babies to experience continued displacement. Now, in addition, I had previously attended research seminars and training that sort of shed light on the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and accessing, you know, mental health services due to cultural and religious l stigma. I've also noted, you know, the racial bias present in, you know, pain assessment and treatment of black women in labor. Um This is a big issue in America specifically. Um And then another issue is, you know, the case of black women and their vulnerability to misdiagnosis as a result of, you know, generalizations and systemic racism. Um We see many black women, including myself who have been told by medical professionals about the high risk of developing uterine fibroids. And although yes, there exist medical trends. It is to be noted that, you know, an over generalization within healthcare can be harmful and sort of lead to certain oversights such as, you know, a misdiagnosis, which was, you know, the recent case of Jessica Petway, she was an African American woman, um who pain treatment had been overlooked and generalized as another case of fibroids when in fact, she had stage three cervical cancer. Um but she was not diagnosed until, you know, and she was not made aware of it until it was too late. And, you know, she eventually passed on from that. So similarly, um pediatrics like, you know, with other branches of medicine and health risk and over simp simplification and, and over um emphasis of certain medical conditions as it pertains to whole groups of people, for instance, the association of sickle cell disease and Sub Saharan Black Africans, which might create an oversight of another diagnosis. This in turn then sort of evoked a discussion on how pediatrics has normalized white Northern European genetics, physiology and behavior leading to, you know, biased clinical decision making. Um you know, the idea that normalizing one ethnic group has sort of led to classification of attributes from other ethnic groups as you know, the other, like I mentioned before, um I'm obviously not a medical professional, but, you know, some points that you can ponder on might be the dis the disproportionate concern that those from South Asian backgrounds might be conso or even the negative connotations associated with a vegetarian diet as a restricted diet under a Western lens. So hopefully this segment has, you know, shed light on, you know, the historic and contemporary cases in which medicine and health were used as colonial instruments or are complicit and racial um undertones. So the next part of this um presentation discusses um a deconstruction of narratives within medicine and health. So to actively pursue a deconstruction of colonial narratives within medicine and health, there needs to be, you know, more discussions like these um that discuss the colonial histories of the field. Um you know, one cannot deconstruct something without knowing what that thing consists of. So, in order to pursue a deconstruction of colonial narratives within medicine and health, I sort of recommend a dec decolonization of curricula within the field. You know, I'm very hopeful that, you know, certain institutions within the United Kingdom are taking the necessary strides needed to confront the nation's colonial past as it pertains to medicine and health. So for instance, if you see here on the slides, the University of Exeter um in partnership with the Royal Society previously awarded, I believe this was in 2022 when this um when this came about, but they previously awarded phd Studentships for a course titled Eugenics and the Royal Society. The course aimed to delineate the historical relationship between the royal society and eugenics amongst many things among many things, the project that aimed to us, what does the place of eugenics tell us about the policing of boundaries between mainstream and nonmainstream science. How does the history of eugenics at the World society connect with and inform the movement to decolonize and reinterpret key aspects of British history and literature through the intertwined perspectives of race and class. So with regards to deconstructing, you know, the colon na Nature associated with pediatrics and you know, the I CPH, it is important to develop sustainable international practices in child health and pediatric care. So perhaps, you know, junior staff who do wish to work abroad should be supported through adequate training and recognition of this time in accreditation, for instance, a constant review of, you know R CPH S and Global links program and organizations and you know, the organizations and also my apology and also a review of the type of organizations that CPR CPC H um sort of, you know, partners with organizations like UNICEF and things like that constant review of these organizations. Um and um how they are in turn addressing colonial narratives or, or colonial or harmful under terms within medicine and health um will be important and vital to um this field of medicine and health as a whole to basically conclude, um I just really wanted to show the, you know, the systemic entrenchment of colonialism within medicine and health as it pertains to the UK at some extent in Europe, you know, obviously there are other cases of medical racism globally. But um just for the, for this presentation, I wanted to focus on the UK and um wider Europe. So some discussion points if anyone does want to um discuss further is um you know, firstly, the point that there is evidence to suggest that simply living as a personal color can result in poor health. How might discrimination in education, economy and housing create a perfect storm for discrimination in health care. And another discussion point is racial discrimination can come as a as a result of medical training, how would you work to improve training of medical professionals to decrease levels of discrimination in healthcare settings? What do you think is the most important training that is required? So I'm going to sort of open up the, the chat. Um If anyone has any questions or if anyone wants to answer any of the discussion points, um If not, you can just, you know, ponder on it in your own spare time. Oh, I see some questions. Oh no. Oh with regards to the slides. Yeah, I can, I can send the slides um on if you want, if not. Um we can also just get the recording. That's brilliant. That was so insightful. Thank you very much. I'd, I'd love to try and discuss these if we can, if people want to join us. I'm very welcome to try and invite them to the stage. Um and they can discuss by talking. I know it's hard on the text, but um if any of our participants would like to do that, please do just me and the chat or something like that and I can try and like upload you onto the stage. Ok. Uh Yeah, thank you very, very much again for such a, a thorough coverage. I think it's really challenging, isn't it? So, the International Child Health Group were part of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health and it very much is recognition that my history has definitely not been and clean and good. Um But how do we then work forward from here and and as the child health been really trying to think around that? So a lot of your suggestions have been helpful even though they feel much bigger than that we could try and manage it. But um this is the first step I hope in terms of trying to um possible for us to open up these discuss and talk about. Um So I really, really appreciate that um in the temples breathing, really doctor. That's fine. I'm also available to um if anyone would like um my email will be at the end of the slide. So there's another slide that has my email on the link in. So if anyone wants to discuss the further, that's also um done by me. Um If you have any questions, you can also just send me a direct email. That's brilliant. And ii appreciate that some of our um our audience might be coming from different countries. So that, that's really interesting. I know and they might be um Asian countries. And uh so thank you for um I wonder if I can put your brain. Um I just practically like the, I was really, really challenged when I see um families who are clear um struggling because of health inequalities that have come through as a result of the education situation that you mentioned the first question. Um How would you think we can best challenge that as doctors, health care professionals? I think what the thing that works. So at the moment, a lot of the, the groups that are health inequalities um are primarily people from what has now been relabeled as the global majority. Um you know, ethnic, ethnic minorities, but now we're a global ma ma majority. But um I would say the idea of representation um matters. So um in the event that you do want to address certain inequalities faced by, you know, individuals from certain backgrounds, it's very important that there's a, there's a safe space because like I've discussed, there is a lot of hesitancy towards Western vaccines, Western with people from different social groups and also the the certain stereotypes that they, that um you know, Western frame and Western medicine has framed in relation to certain factors of other groups creates further hesitancy. So with regards to that, um something as simple as in diversity and this is where this is where diversity quality and inclusion inter intersect with decolonization, something as simple as in diverse group of people, diverse doctors, diverse nurses, diverse clinical support workers, something like that will create more of a, a better response towards um you know, healthcare and towards accessing healthcare. Um But with regards to the actual administrative side of it and you know, trying to, trying to help things like um having language line, I know in leeds here, um all the hospitals have language lines, something that smaller that um and I've seen now the NHS sort of um when they give letters um if the person doesn't speak English as their first language, the first part will be in English and you flip it over and it's saying, you know, uh do Punjabi Arabic, whatever language the person speaks. So I do believe that there are great strides being made already um with regards to trying to um diversify and understand and, and understand certain groups of people. Um So it's just to sort of follow, follow on with the natural flow of what is already happening and in terms of training or, or resources that are available for us to what is there out there to help us. Um But, but what have you come across that has been helpful. So personally, I mean, I do a lot of research. So I'm just always um in the library or on my computer, but um a good place to start. Um Firstly is what's the word critiquing? The work of this is where Google scholar comes in place is critiquing and bringing um sort of a different perspective to whatever you see that has been put out there because it has to be a collab collaborative effort. Um So it's not just about taking in information, but when you do read information, um and you see points that might um not be as sound as they should be to sort of comment on that and, you know, state the bias or the unconscious bias because a lot, there's a lot of unconscious bias within medicine and health, especially in the UK, you sort of highlight that unconscious bias that you might notice. But um with regards to reading material, it's vast, honestly, I would say you can, it depends on who you follow. Even something like on linkedin. There's so many um you know, different, different people um to follow that sort of, you know, discuss medicine and health or that, you know, discuss decolonization on its own, which is big. So, decolonization on its own extends to. So socioeconomic political, it's a very big field. But um if you just surround yourself with information that um comes from different angles. That's also good enough, you need to pay attention to what you're, what you're reading as well. So even while you're critiquing what someone else has ha what someone else has said, you have to be very cognizant of the information that you're receiving. So information that is very entrenched still of information that's coming from voices that are not from people who are, you know, diverse can be a continued, you know, can continue to be, you know, problematic. What you want to do is to try and diversify the voices that you're hearing even in the textbooks, if you look at, especially with like dental practices, things like showing the gums of people with darker skin. Um you know, in textbooks, things like that are important. Um There's just, there's really just a wide range of, of, of things that you can keep an eye out for with regards to um information. Absolutely. And I know about, um especially in pediatrics, but I think it's wider now, isn't it? There's a skin deep um complication that helps us to recognize rashes and skin to different skin tones, which is really helpful and hopefully a good start. Um Oh, we got lots and lots of crazy recommendations. Thank you very much. I haven't seen any uh questions as such at the moment. Um It, so I guess this international Childhood we're trying to learn more and more about that, trying to fill out from our view and a that we probably making a little bit but we're, we're on it. Um What would be your kind of your talk in terms of doing that from an organizational point of view? Yeah. So as you know, your, your organization being, you know, a sub body of, you know what I was critiquing, um I would say I looked at the website and um I did find the global Links Program to be very interesting. Um So I am very worried that, you know, sometimes um you know, doctors do go, you know, to, you know, developing nations and there is somewhat of a, a white savior complex that comes along. But um if done correctly, um a lot of doctors, medical practitioners, you know, they can be immersed in viewing and seeing different cultural um cultural ways to navigate medicine and help, which is where, you know, something like, you know, ethno medicine that has been historically stigmatized. If you're putting, you know, doctors from western nations in developing nations and in, you know, in different communities, perhaps there can be a resurgence of, you know, interlinking, you know, ethno medicine, medicine, folk medicine with what the currently known as, you know, modern day medicine. Um But yeah, I think the Global Links program is a very good idea, even the idea of, you know, having a mentor from the NHS that's back here to still sort of create um epidermological links between what they're doing on ground and then, you know what's been, what is still expected, um, from this side. Um, II think, I think it's a good, I think it's a good program just to make sure that whoever is being, especially for junior doctors because how you're able to interact within a diverse group of people, um, will also directly translate to how you're going to work within different hospitals here in the UK. The UK is becoming more and more diversified as well on its own. So, um I think it's good to just, it, it's, it's, it's just good to have a changed mentality about, you know, people of color or about people from different ethnic groups and it will, it will be able to, it, it'll, it'll help in how and you would, you know, practice medicine here in the UK. So, yeah, II did find that to be a very interesting program. Yeah, I understand what we can learn from each other like um although I think they set up for, I thought that your brain skills, actually, I'm sure most people that go on the Google learn so much about as well as how to um interact in a very different situation and learn a lot from those on the ground that they think they going to that. And I recognize that in our, in a way in so many diverse um friends and colleagues as well in general in that conversation really? Um I'm worried that we've got a couple of medicine. Um So thank you very much for doing, for sharing your email address there. Um Any questions um was there before? Um Nothing else that I have to say. Thank you to one messages in the chat. Thank you. Yeah, that's what we do on this session. Um I hope that's been really helpful. Um I don't know you and I can get this conversation going if you would like to. Um So if there are any suggestions I get better and we can t very, very welcome. Um And also if there any other questions for comment about the work of the group itself. Um Well, uh I know. So, yeah, that's the old guy that thank you. Thank you. One. Yeah. Ok.