Subaltern: vanguards of global health
Katia Mohindra
There is a stalemate in global health: we preach health equity, yet we fail to reach those with the highest levels of health needs worldwide, often offering platitudes, subpar solutions and gripes about inadequate resources. This first blog presents the three pillars of a subaltern approach to global health:
Staking the methodology
Moving beyond performative inclusion of the subaltern, this pillar focuses on subaltern methodological tools and frameworks. This includes both proposing fresh lenses and highlighting existing but lesser-known work in this area.
Following unmarked trails
Global health relies on big data and satellite approaches enabling large snapshots of populations across the globe; however, this leads to aggregated categories, hiding heterogeneity (subaltern populations often have small numbers). Using a boots-on-the-ground approach, we aim to focus on specific subaltern communities worldwide, highlighting their health needs and local solutions being adopted.
Moving from the backwaters to the outpost
Ditching the dusty backwaters of archaic ideas (donating outdated technology!), we march towards the outpost, where the subaltern benefit from and contribute to medical and technological frontiers.
We will be focusing especially on issues related to brain health, antimicrobial resistance and access to advanced biomedicine and biotechnology. However, we invite you not only to subscribe to our blog but to engage with us. Critique us! Pitch ideas for topics! Let us know about helpful resources! Share us!
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Katia Mohindra
Founder and Scientific Director
Katia Mohindra (BSc., MSc., PhD) is a global health researcher interested in how the biological, environmental, technological and social determinants of brain health can be optimized in low and middle-income countries. She originally trained in the Dan Macintyre lab (using the kindling model to examine the role of the perirhinal cortex in temporal lobe epilepsy) and did her doctoral field work under the mentorship of the physician economist, Slim Haddad (theoretically and empirically investigating how poverty alleviation interventions can influence women’s health). She held a CIHR post-doctoral fellowship in global health at the University of British Columbia and has consulted for a range of international institutions (e.g. WHO, UNICEF) as technical lead in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research. She has also provided research and writing support to ensure latest scientific findings, as well as clinical and public health best practices, reach health practioners and policymakers.