Decolonizing Global Health

A Critical Realist Perspective

Ferdinand C Mukumbang

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English

Routledge
18 December 2025

Social & political philosophy; Public health & preventive medicine

This insightful work uses a critical realist perspective to unpack the colonially informed culture, structures, and mechanisms which exist across global health institutions, offering a vision for radical change through a process of decolonization.

Shedding light on the institutional structures that perpetuate and sustain long-standing power imbalances in global health research and practice, post-colonial critical realism provides a cogent, meta-theoretical basis for understanding colonialism and decolonization. It reveals these structures as social constructions rather than naturally occurring phenomena. In astutely examining a range of factors, from the language of global health to the principles and practice of research in this field, the book identifies not only the role that colonialism continues to play, but also the means by which it can be subverted.

Written by a prominent author in this important field of study, this book will be key reading for students and scholars from public health to medicine, as well as philosophy, anthropology, and development studies.

By: Ferdinand C Mukumbang
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032700779
ISBN 10: 1032700777
Pages: 242
Publication Date: 18 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ferdinand C. Mukumbang is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Global Health, University of Washington, US. He is a public health scientist specializing in health policy and systems research, with a specific focus on implementation sciences. He is particularly interested in the development and adoption of realist-informed research methods for evidence-based theorizing in health care and global health. He actively champions the decolonization of global health, striving to dismantle systemic inequities and promote equitable healthcare access worldwide.

Reviews for Decolonizing Global Health: A Critical Realist Perspective

""This is a long overdue book. It offers a much-needed philosophical synthesis of the broad range of demands and goals embedded in the growing quest to 'decolonise' global health."" - Seye Abimbola, University of Sydney, Australia “This unique, important contribution synthesises Mukumbang’s extensive international experience collaborating within the field of Global Health […] Mukumbang lays a viable, sensitive, and assertive pathway for decolonising Global Health.” - Denise De Souza, Torrens University Australia “In a highly polarized topic Mukumbang manages to keep his cool and dig deep into the underlying structures of coloniality and decolonization […] A must-read for anyone with or without power in the global health domain.” - Dimitri Renmans, Université Libre de Bruxelles “This is an impressive book that traces the historical roots of colonialism, unpacks its persistence through coloniality and neo-colonialism, and outlines detailed steps for decolonizing global health.” - Dr. Bipin Adhikari, Senior Social Scientist, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Bangkok