Abstract
Powerful foreign governments and international organizations frequently exercise influence over African governments, affecting policies and decisions that do not always correspond with the quality of healthcare in African countries. This chapter investigates the relationship between neocolonialism and public health in Africa, with a special emphasis on how global health initiatives affect health outcomes across the continent. The study examines how external entities such as international organizations, donor countries, and pharmaceutical businesses impact health policies and initiatives in African countries. It also investigates the power dynamics at work in global health governance, focusing on how neocolonial institutions and ideologies influence the prioritization of specific health issues and the allocation of resources in ways that may exacerbate inequality and perpetuate reliance. The chapter further evaluates the impact of global health initiatives on health systems, disease prevention and treatment, and overall health outcomes in Africa by using case studies and other empirical evidence, considering the agency and resistance of local communities and governments in navigating these dynamics. By throwing light on these complex interactions, this chapter hopes to contribute to important discussions about health equity, social justice, and deneocolonial approaches to public health in Africa.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
03 March 2026
A correction has been published.
References
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Crown Business.
ActionAid. (2023). Fifty years of failure: The IMF, debt and austerity in Africa. https://www.actionaid.org/publications/2023/fifty-years-failure-imf-debt-and-austerity-africa
Admassie, A., Abebaw, D., & Woldemichael, A. (2016). Impact evaluation of the Ethiopian Health Extension Program. International Journal of Public Health, 61(6), 647–655.
Afisi, O. T. (2024). Neocolonialism. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/neocolon/
Alderwick, H., Hutchings, A., Briggs, A., & Mays, N. (2021). The impacts of collaboration between local health care and non-health care organizations and factors shaping how they work: A systematic review of reviews. BMC Public Health, 21(753), 1–16.
Baleta, A. (2021). Vaccine nationalism and Africa’s COVID-19 response. The Lancet Global Health, 9(3), e305–e306.
Barasa, E., Mbau, R., & Gilson, L. (2018). What is resilience and how can it be nurtured? A systematic review of empirical literature on organizational resilience. Health Policy and Planning, 33(3), 355–367.
Barasa, E. W., Molyneux, S., English, M., & Cleary, S. (2017). Setting healthcare priorities in hospitals: A review of empirical studies. Health Policy and Planning, 30(3), 386–396.
Biehl, J., & Petryna, A. (2013). When people come first: Critical studies in global health. Princeton University Press.
Binagwaho, A., Farmer, P. E., Nsanzimana, S., Karema, C., Gasana, M., de Dieu Ngirabega, J., & Ngabo, F. (2014a). Rwanda 20 years on: Investing in life. The Lancet, 384(9940), 371–375.
Binagwaho, A., Kyamanywa, P., Farmer, P. E., & Nutt, C. T. (2014b). The human resources for health program in Rwanda—A new partnership. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(21), 2054–2059.
Borghi, J., Ensor, T., Somanathan, A., Lissner, C., & Mills, A. (2013a). Mobilising financial resources for maternal health. The Lancet, 382(9890), 1854–1869.
Borghi, J., Maluka, S., Kuwawenaruwa, A., Tantau, J., & Macha, J. (2013b). Promoting universal financial protection: A case study of new management of community health insurance in Tanzania. Health Research Policy and Systems, 11(1), 21.
Brookings. (2021). Global health financing and HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. Brookings Institution.
Cardoso, F. H., & Faletto, E. (1979). Dependency and development in Latin America. University of California Press.
Cohen, J. (2023). A bloodbath’: HIV field is reeling after billions in U.S. funding are axed. https://www.science.org/content/article/bloodbath-hiv-field-reeling-after-billions-u-s-funding-axed
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Dodgson, R., Lee, K., & Drager, N. (2002). Global health governance: A conceptual review. Centre on Global Change and Health London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Dos Santos, T. (1970). The structure of dependence. American Economic Review, 60(2), 231–236.
Eike, A., et al. (2022). Universal health coverage in South Africa: Challenges and policy options. South African Medical Journal, 112(4), 215–221.
Farmer, P., Kleinman, A., Kim, J., & Basilico, M. (2013a). Reimagining global health: An introduction. University of California Press.
Farmer, P., Nutt, C., Wagner, C., Sekabaraga, C., Nuthulaganti, T., Weigel, J. and Mukherjee, J. (2013b). Reduced premature mortality in Rwanda: Lessons from success. BMJ, 346, f65.
Frank, A. G. (1967). Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America. Monthly Review Press.
Frenk, J., & Moon, S. (2013). Governance Challenges in Global Health. The New-England Medical Review and Journal, 368(10), 936–942.
Global Fund. (2024). Kenya’s health funding for 2024–2026. Global Fund Reports.
Harper, S., Gyimah, S., & Nattrass, N. (2017). Local production and access to medicines in Africa: The need for a new industrial policy. Development and Change, 48(4), 853–880.
Heywood, M. (2009). South Africa’s treatment action campaign: Combining law and social mobilization to realize the right to health. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 1(1), 14–36.
IMF. (2023a). Regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa.https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/2023
IMF. (2023b). Economic policies and health sector reforms in Africa. IMF Publications.
Kickbusch, I. (2011). How foreign policy can influence health. British Medical Journal, 18(342), 1345–1346.
Kim, J. Y., Millen, J. V., Irwin, A., & Gershman, J. (2000). Dying for growth: Global inequality and the health of the poor. Common Courage Press.
Lines, K., & Makau, J. (2017a). Muungano wa Wanavijiji and the struggle for health rights in Kenya’s informal settlements. Environment and Urbanization, 29(2), 509–524.
Lines, K., & Makau, J. (2017b). Taking the high road: How to apply the Sustainable Development Goals to urban development in Kenya’s informal settlements. Environment and Urbanization (1), 303–318.
Lutwama, G. W., Roos, J. H., & Dolamo, B. L. (2012). Assessing the implementation of Uganda’s health sector strategic plan II: A framework for health system strengthening. BMC Health Services Research, 12(1), 1–11.
Marx, K. (1972). Capital: The process of capitalist production (Fowkes. Knopf, Trans.). Doubleday.
Marx, K. (1977). Economy, class and social revolution. Nelson Publishers.
Mayosi, B. M., & Benatar, S. R. (2014). Health and health care in South Africa—20 years after Mandela. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(14), 1344–1353.
McMichael, A. J., & Beaglehole, R. (2000). The changing global context of public health. The Lancet, 356, 495–499.
Moran, M. (2007). Governing the health research commons. The Lancet, 370(9581), 863–870.
Musinguzi, L. K., Turinawe, E. B., Rwemisisi, J. T., & De Vries, D. H. (2017). Village health teams and the potential to improve maternal health in rural Uganda: A qualitative study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 17(1), 1–10.
Nkrumah, K. (1965). Neo-colonialism: The last stage of imperialism. International Publishers.
Nyasulu, J., & Pandya, H. (2020). COVID-19 and the South African healthcare system. Journal of Global Health, 10(2), Article 021005.
Packard, R. M. (2016). A history of global health: Interventions into the lives of other peoples. Johns Hopkins University Press.
PEPFAR. (2023). U.S. president’s emergency plan for AIDS relief annual report. US Department of State.
Pfeiffer, J., & Chapman, R. (2010). Anthropological perspectives on structural adjustment and public health. Annual Review of Anthropology, 39,149–165.
Prashad, V. (2008). The darker nations: A people’s history of the Third World. The New Press.
Prebisch, R. (1950). The economic development of Latin America and its principal problems. Economic Bulletin for Latin America. https://repositorio.cepal.org/entities/publication/9a00fa5b-ad04-4520-ae4c-e3adba791790
Ruckert, A., & Labonté, R. (2014). The global financial crisis and health equity: Toward a conceptual framework. Critical Public Health, 24(3), 267–279.
Skinner, B. F. (1996). The ethics of helping people. In M. A. Mattaini & B. A. Thyer (Eds.), Finding solutions to social problems: Behavioral strategies for change. American Psychological Association Publications.
Smilak, N. R., & Putnam, R. F. (2022). A critique of colonialism and modern aid in Africa: What would Skinner say? Behavior and Social Issues, 31, 252–271.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (1997). Governance for sustainable human development. UNDP Publications.
Uzochukwu, B. S., Onwujekwe, O. E., Akpala, C. O., Uguru, N. P., Chukwuogo, O. I., & Okoli, C. (2015a). Community directed interventions for malaria control in Anambra State, Nigeria: Implications for scaling-up. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 1–8.
Uzochukwu, B. S., Onwujekwe, O. E., Mbachu, C. O., Okwuosa, C., & Etiaba, E. (2015b). Implementing the basic health care provision fund in Nigeria: A framework for increasing financial risk protection. Health Policy and Planning, 30(10), 1363–1371.
Villiers, J. (2021). Colonial legacies and South Africa’s health inequalities. African Affairs, 120(480), 275–298.
Wade, R. (1990). Governing the market: Economic theory and the role of government in East Asian industrialization. Princeton University Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1974). The modern world-system: Capitalist agriculture and the origins of the European world-economy in the sixteenth century. Academic Press.
World Bank. (2023a). Annual meetings 2023: A new vision for challenging times.https://www.worldbank.org/en/annual-meetings/overview
World Bank. (2023b). The impact of financial policies on healthcare accessibility in Africa. World Bank Reports.
World Economic Forum. (2023a). Global health governance and the impact of international financial institutions on Africa’s health systems. Geneva, Switzerland.
World Economic Forum. (2023b). IMF, World Bank increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s representation. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/10/imf-world-bank-sub-saharan-africa
World Health Organization. (2010). The Abuja Declaration; Ten Years On, https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/341162/WHO-HSS-HSF-2010.01-eng.pdf
World Health Organization. (2020a). Global strategy on health system sustainability and resilience. WHO Publications.
World Health Organization. (2020b). World health statistics 2020: Monitoring health for the SDGs. WHO Publications.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kehinde, O.A., Kehinde, T.K. (2025). RETRACTED CHAPTER: Neocolonialism and Public Health in Africa. In: Bangura, A.K. (eds) Socioeconomics, Philosophy, and Deneocoloniality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94374-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94374-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-94373-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-94374-4
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)