The geopolitics of health in South and Southeast Asia : perspectives from the Cold War to COVID-19 / edited by Vivek Neelakantan

• HerausgeberIn: Neelakantan, Vivek
• Place / Publishing House: London, New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: xii, 168 Seiten; Illustrationen

This book analyses the complexity of South and Southeast Asia in international health, taking into account the impact of the geopolitics of the Cold War on the development of public health and development in the regions. In light of the recent health pandemic, which has mobilized experts and governments and led to a securitized approach to global health, this book offers a regional approach to global health histories. The chapters provide case studies ranging from the Cold War to the present time and covering countries from across South and Southeast Asia. Contributors analyse issues related to disease control, an adjunct to wider Cold War geopolitics. They also examine the responses of regional organizations, particularly the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), towards COVID-19. Collectively, the book illustrates how narrowly-conceived global health programs implemented by aid agencies failed to account for the local, national or regional contexts. Situating health in South and Southeast Asia in broader global contexts, the book will be a valuable contribution to the History of Medicine and Health and Political Economy of South and Southeast Asia

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. "The Monsoon Asia of Geographers": The Cold War Beginnings of the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia (SEARO), 1948-60; 2. The Cold War, Non-Alignment and Medicine in India: The Case of Medical Education and Pharmaceutical Self-Sufficiency, 1947-57; 3. Malaria Eradication and Modernization in Maldives and Sri Lanka, 1941-84; 4. Thailand's Rural Doctor Society in the 1970s and 1980s and its Struggles to Improve Health in the Countryside; 5. Civic Space in Southeast Asia in the Time of COVID-19: The Case of Maritime Southeast Asia; 6. Neighbors Rally Against the Virus: The Case of SAARC