Decolonizing International Health

This book offers a history of international public health spanning the colonial and post-colonial eras. The volume focuses on India and the transnational networks connecting developments in India with Southeast Asia, and the wider world and contributes to debates on nationalism, internationalism and science in an age of decolonization.

'This book is everything that a first monograph should be. Thoroughly researched, well-written, and pregnant with the possibilities of future research projects that build on this work.' - Itinerario

'Decolonizing International Health is an original study that convincingly points post-colonial historians of modern medicine to the period after independence and international historians to the significance of health agencies worldwide.' - Itinerario

'...a suggestive and imaginative contribution to our understanding of international health at a crucial juncture, not least because it takes such a bold and broad perspective...an immensely valuable work because it should inspire others to conduct a wide range of in-depth microhistorical studies of public health interventions in Asia.' - Niels Brimnes, Medical History

'Decolonizing International Health is as impressive in the material it presents as in the argument it unfolds. This excellent study of internationalization and the politics of health deserves a wide and appreciative readership.' - David Arnold, Journal of Contemporary History

'This work shows the development of ideas on international health from the 1930s to the 1960s; as such, it is more of an intellectual history than an institutional history. Among its numerous historical sources are official documents of international organizations and sovereign state governments, aural histories, and even works of literature. Its storytelling is magnificent. I found that it stimulated my thinking on a wide range of topics...At present, globalization is widening the health gap in many ways unprecedented. In this sense, the publication of this fascinating book is very timely. Both historians and contemporary experts in international health would be well served by reading it.' International Journal of Asian Studies

SUNIL S. AMRITH teaches History at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.