2025- 2026 | A Humanities Framework for Equitable Global Health

While global health is often defined by its commitment to equity in health outcomes worldwide, the concept of "equity" itself is deeply rooted in ethical, cultural, and philosophical questions: areas where the Humanities offer vital insight.

This project represents a foundational step toward integrating Humanities perspectives into the University of Oxford’s global health agenda. Oxford is a global leader in health research, particularly through the Oxford Global Health network. However, much of this expertise is concentrated in the Medical and Social Sciences Divisions.

This project seeks to demonstrate how a Humanities framework can help centre the lived experiences, values, and priorities of the people and communities whose health is at stake, particularly when these may differ across local and global contexts. The ultimate aim of this initiative is to develop a broader programme to create a Humanities-based equity framework for global health. 

The Co-Investigators of this project, Dr Alberto Giubilini and Dr Erica Charters, have previously collaborated with Dr Tolulope Osayomi, a medical geographer at the University of Ibadan and former AfOx Fellow at Oxford (2023 - 2024). Together, they had co-organised the TORCH workshop “From COVID-19 to MPox: Lessons from the Humanities” in Michaelmas Term 2024. Dr Osayomi’s work on how African communities respond differently to health crises provides essential expertise for addressing the ethical tensions between local responses and global health strategies; a key concern for both this project and Oxford Global Health more broadly.

Picture credit: HEALING SPIRIT HANDS (Gubi- Wawu Murra), by Jedess Hedson.

This project is funded through the TORCH International Partnership Scheme.