Examining African Contributions to Global Health (FutureLearn)

Discover the achievements and impact made by African experts in global healthcare. Diversify your historical perspective by learning about the Global South. The history of science has largely been written from the perspective of the Global North. This has meant that the impact of the Global South has been neglected and undervalued. This five-week course from the University of Basel will uncover the innovation and excellence that Africa has brought to global health over time.

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Use African ingenuity to improve public health worldwide

Africa has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, having contributed 12.8% of the technologies used to respond to the pandemic.

As you will learn in the case studies, many African countries have overcome health challenges using innovative solutions that can benefit the world. You’ll explore theories, financing solutions, and technologies from Africa that can be used to uplift health systems across the world.

Utilise the knowledge exchange of the Global South to inspire innovation

African countries have a wealth of knowledge that the Global North could benefit from.

Using the knowledge from this course, you will be able to identify problems relating to clinical trials and financing in the Global North and learn from innovative approaches in Africa.

You will also learn about examples of knowledge exchange in the Global South and find connections between urban planning and public health that can be used to motivate transformation in global health.

Learn with the experts in African Studies from the University of Basel

The University of Basel has a renowned Centre for African Studies, has one of the few chairs of African History in Europe, and is associated with one of the leading tropical medicine institutes in the world.

The experts are best placed to guide you in your journey, broaden your horizons, and improve your knowledge of the history of African contributions to global health.

Syllabus

Week 1: What are African contributions to global health?

Week 2: African health financing

Week 3: Learning from drug development in Africa

Week 4: South-South knowledge circulation

Week 5: Urban health in Africa

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

- Investigate the history of global health as well as knowledge and theory from the Global South, particularly from Africa. Discuss how it has been neglected in Northern academia.

- Explore African health financing through concrete examples such as Universal Health Coverage and Results-Based Financing.

- Compare the challenges of drug development and R&D costs estimation in the Global North and South.

- Investigate South-South knowledge circulation and Chinese medical assistance in Tanzania. Explore how historians conduct their research.

- Identify the interdependence between environmental factors and people’s health in African cities. Assess the ways in which the recent history of urban planning in Africa impacts public health. Delve into urban health and urban agriculture.
Who is the course for?

This course is suited to public health professionals as well as students and scholars of global health and African Studies.

It’s also helpful to those interested in history, urbanism, public health, health economics, drug development, and Africa.