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[Student Post] Jennifer Cole: “Critical Health Geopolitics”

13 March 2023

5 mins

Introduction

For the first Geopolitics and International Affairs (GIA) webinar of 2023, Loughborough University welcomed Dr Jennifer Cole from Royal Holloway, University of London to present her work on Critical Health Geopolitics. As a lecturer in Global and Planetary Health, Dr Cole’s recent work has focused mainly on infectious diseases in the context of health security and global health risk. Her experience in this field has already attracted interest from UNESCO. This has included collaboration on four case studies to observe how COVID-19 has weaponized to divide populations and widen inequalities.

Defining Critical Health Geopolitics

Dr Cole began her talk by explaining what she means by Critical Health Geopolitics. Firstly, the concept of Critical Health Geopolitics directs inquiry towards important questions about geographical spaces that pose health risks to global populations at various scales. Such questions were more important than ever to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic as national governments were forced to ask themselves how best to keep their population safe via lockdowns and border closures, all whilst ensuring that the economy was kept afloat so that the impact on communities from a reduction in essential services was limited. In reality, such drastic measures amplified the inequalities that were already rampant within regional, national and global scales. Dr Cole used the UK context as an example in which those with higher levels of disposable income were able to panic buy for their family whilst other children lost their free school meal provision as a result of school closures.

Dr Cole explained how disparities could also be noticed when considering the strategies implemented by national governments to ensure socio-spatial control. Messaging regarding the risk of COVID-19 had to be played out in a careful manner within political circles as high income, office-based workers were told to restrict themselves within the space of their household whilst often low-income, service sector workers were expected to continue their line of work and mix with the general public. Not only does this create disparity when looking at the number of deaths and cases of COVID-19 by occupation, but also by the way in which some lives within the community were valued and protected over others. Dr Cole used the very poignant example of food delivery drivers to explain the way in which the consumer, by purchasing the service of home delivery, has chosen to put someone else’s life at risk instead of their own, continuing the hierarchy of life value.

Health Diplomacy and Disparity

In using Critical Health Geopolitics, studies such as those conducted by Dr Cole and her colleagues can draw attention to the way in which these health inequalities and injustices can be noticed not only at the national and community level but also globally. One specific area that was touched upon in Dr Cole’s discussion, which I found particularly interesting, was the way in which health diplomacy plays a role in navigating geopolitical rivalries. During the pandemic, wealthy allies were seen to be giving valuable resources to each other or simply using these resources themselves. Meanwhile, low-income countries that did not enjoy the same political relationship with richer states were left feeling anxious about their lack of preparedness to face a virus whose dangers have been amplified by global news channels.

Dr Cole referenced the work of her colleague, Dr Maureen Ayikoru, to elaborate on this hypothesis. Dr Ayikoru uses the example of Uganda, a country that has already dealt with much deadlier pandemics, to explain how a country that has lived experience of disease burden and a governmental plan to address future challenges still faced anxiety when faced with COVID-19. The findings of this study suggested that 52% of healthcare workers in Uganda were more stressed about COVID-19 than they were about the Ebola and Marburg viruses, despite the lower risk of death. Dr Ayikoru found that this was due to concerns surrounding insufficient personal protective equipment, an increase in domestic and sexual violence towards women and the compromising of other services, impacting the treatment of chronic illness, for example. When a pathway to the end of disruption was in sight via the introduction of vaccinations, Uganda struggled to buy the number of vaccines they required to protect their population. Vaccine manufacturing was mainly occurring within Western states who adopted a policy of vaccinating not only those who are most vulnerable (adults over the age of 50) but also children as young as 5 who we know are at little to no risk of complications if they contract the virus. As a result of this mass vaccination strategy, countries outside of the manufacturing sphere were left with little to no protection.

Final reflections

Dr Cole’s webinar was an insightful reflection on a pandemic which shaped all of our lives in unprecedented ways. Within periods of crisis, it is easy to become insular, focusing on ourselves and our nearest relations when concerned with safety and health. Dr Cole invited us to widen our thinking into the realm of geopolitics to consider how the decisions that those within government make affect not just those within our vicinity, but also within a global context. Using the case studies of the UK, Armenia, Uganda and EU governments, Dr Cole highlighted the way in which a physical challenge posed to the global population can put a spotlight on the socio-political inequalities that are accentuated during times of immense societal disruption.

Emma Caves is studying International Relations in her final year at Loughborough University. Her main interests are in the anthropological side of political and geographical studies, and she hopes to continue this interest through a role in project management in local government in the future. 

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