Equalising the Power? Challenges surrounding the Scottish approach to global health.
October 2023
Sudeepa Abeysinghe
The following is taken from the document summary:
This Insight Award from the Scottish Council on Global Affairs permitted a social scientific assessment of whether what has been emerging in the implementation of Scotland’s global health portfolio substantiates the principles outlined by governmental policy developments as well as wider concerns of global health justice and equity. To these ends, a scoping review was conducted of peer-reviewed evidence surrounding global health work emanating from Scotland.
The results of the scoping review suggested that typically, multiple actors are working in coordination to develop global health partnership programmes and interventions including civil society organisations, universities and medical schools, international charity organisations, Scottish Government, UK-affiliated research groups, NHS Scotland regional and local health service providers, the NHS Scotland Global Health Coordination Unit and professional health societies. Hence, all studies speaking to Scottish actors’ involvement in global health activities within Scotland’s international development partner countries were included in the review. Ultimately 25 studies were found to be eligible for inclusion, providing empirical examples, discussions, and/or critiques of Scotland’s contemporary approaches to global health.
“Scotland’s willingness to be having a conversation about ‘power shifting’ and ‘equalisation’ is highlighted as unusual and distinctive”
