Global Health Literature
One of my favorite and easiest ways to understand the world, issues, and solutions is to read about them. Here are some of my favorite books that are a good starting point to global health- a mixture of heavy non-fiction and fiction for the varied reader.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: This political fiction novel was written in 1906, and not only highlighted concepts such as labor and harsh conditions that immigrants faced in industrial cities like Chicago, but it also highlighted the importance of federal food safety laws. It is the social manifesto everyone should read, even if only to get a breakdown of the complexities and limits to the American Dream.
Illness as a Metaphor by Susan Sontag: I read Sontag every time I need a dose of critical theory, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Sontag challenges the idea of victim-blaming in the language used to describe diseases and those who have them. She dives into perceptions that were used to describe people with tuberculosis and cancer, and the social stigma that got left behind.
Making and Unmaking Public Health in Africa (Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives): if you are interested in the study of medical anthropology and the storytelling health tradition- these collections of essays are a good place to start.
The Great Escape-Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality: Angus Deaton is a household name for students and experts of economics, and for good reason. His work has been brought up in almost every Economics course I have taken, so no wonder why he has a Nobel Prize. Deaton takes a deep look at the historical and ongoing patterns behind the health and wealth of nations and addresses what needs to be done to help vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. ‘He describes the incredible innovations and heartbreaking backward cycles: the successes of antibiotics, pest control, vaccinations, and clean water/sanitation on the one hand, and disastrous famines and the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the other. He examines the dichotomy between the United States- a nation that has prospered but is today experiencing slower growth and increasing inequality- and yet economic growth in India and China has improved the lives of more than a billion people.’
Metrics (What Counts in Global Health) by Vincanne Adams: This is a really engaging book that covers the wide scope of using quantitative units to measure and evaluate accomplishments and limits in global health. From maternal mortality rates to political correlations, whether metrics tell the whole story and their consequences, is the focus of this book.
Poor Economics by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo: You are not an Econ or Development student if you have not read this book. Its subtitle is “a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty.” This book made waves when it was first published in 2011 because it did, what most people in the field failed to do— put the world’s poorest first in their narratives, and in the process of decision making. Empathy is my favorite kind of storytelling because it highlights the complexities and nuances of things we think are so cut and dry— this book is the epitome of that. At less than 300 pages, it’s a rewarding read.
Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel: An international look into the harmful ironies of power and policy in food systems and markets. I linked a PDF of the introduction, but it is also available on Amazon and he has written more condensed articles on the matter as well.
Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington: If you are particularly interested in the fractured relationship between Black Americans and our health systems, look no further than this book right here. She dives into a comprehensive history of unethical mistreatment and racist pseudoscience experiments that have scarred and traumatized black communities. A necessary piece of literature in understanding the roots of mistrust and health deficits among African Americans. This is so good, but also very disheartening.
The Body Economic by David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu: I haven’t read this one yet, but here is a description I found that makes me want to add it to my never-ending reading list: “ The Body Economic, Stuckler and Basu mine data from around the globe and throughout history to show how government policy becomes a matter of life and death during financial crises. In a series of historical case studies stretching from 1930s America to Russia and Indonesia in the 1990s, to present-day Greece, Britain, Spain, and the U.S., Stuckler, and Basu reveal that governmental mismanagement of financial strife has resulted in a grim array of human tragedies, from suicides to HIV infections. Yet people can and do stay healthy, and even get healthier, during downturns. During the Great Depression, U.S. deaths actually plummeted, and today Iceland, Norway, and Japan are happier and healthier than ever, proof that public well-being need not be sacrificed for fiscal health. Full of shocking and counterintuitive revelations and bold policy recommendations, The Body Economic offers an alternative to austerity, one that will prevent widespread suffering, both now and in the future.”
The Human Right to Health by Jonathan Wolff: You are not a student of Human Rights or Development if you are not aware of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that insists that every human being has the right to receive a basic set of services which include education— and health. But this book highlights the tension, between what has been laid out and what is actually executed by any state. A must read if you are also possibly interested in humanitarian law.
Speaking of rights and foundations, the Constitution of the World Health Organization is a basic start to services we all deserve.
Rats, Lice, and History by Hans Zinsser - science and the humanities have never gone so well together, and if you’re wondering where you can find a biography of disease then this piece is perfect for understanding the biology of typhus and its relationship to human affairs.
Amartya Sen is another household name, especially in the econ field, so I highly recommend cracking open his work. This is the man whose groundbreaking work on famines changed coursework forever. Two books I recommend of his are Development as Freedom (for those who want a starting understanding of economic development) and The Idea of Justice.
Why We Lie About Aid by Pablo Yanguas: Another one I haven’t read but is described as such: “The result is a highly dysfunctional aid system that mistakes short-term results for long-term transformation and gets attacked across the political spectrum: those on the right claiming we spend too much, those on the left that we don’t spend enough. The reality, as Pablo Yanguas argues in this highly provocative book, is that aid isn’t—or at least shouldn’t be—about levels of spending, nor interventions shackled to vague notions of accountability, ownership, and harmonization. Instead, a different approach is possible, one that acknowledges aid as being about struggle, about taking sides, and about politics. It is an approach that has been quietly applied by innovative development practitioners around the world, providing political coverage for local reformers to open up spaces for change. “
Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Smith: if you’re stuck in wondering how to deconstruct Western imperial knowledge this one you must read.
An Imperfect Offering by James Orbinski: A memoir of humanitarian activism that has completely made me change the way I view the world.
The Idealist by Nina Munk: “Deeply reported over six years, The Idealist chronicles the celebrated economist Jeffrey Sachs’s quixotic effort to end extreme poverty. Beginning with the launch of his $120 million Millennium Villages Project, Nina Munk shadowed Sachs on his trips to Africa and sat in on his conversations with heads-of-state, humanitarian organizations, rival economists, and development experts. She immersed herself in the lives of people in two Millennium villages – Ruhiira, in southwest Uganda; and Dertu, in the arid borderland between Kenya and Somalia – accepting the hospitality of camel herders and small-hold farmers, and witnessing their struggle to survive. The Idealist traces Munk’s journey as she comes to understand the real-life issues that challenge Sachs's formula for ending global poverty. With nuance and sensitivity, she reveals the devastating gulf between the Millennium Project’s good intentions and the hard reality of economic development.”
Happy Reading!
photo by annie spratt