Decolonization in international health cooperation: Are we ready for it?

The decolonization debate in international cooperation is not simply a new debate around power relations: It asks fundamental questions about the foundations of the development sector and its practices and brings a new analytical quality to international cooperation in general and to global health in particular. At its jubilee Symposium 2023, MMS critically examined the colonial roots of global health, which continue to shape the work of international cooperation. Questions about overcoming the unequal power dynamics in partnerships between North and South were at the center of the discourse, as was the upcoming transformation of the sector. In-depth insights and reflections as well as the results of the study commissioned by MMS on what decolonization means for MMS member organizations are presented in this bulletin.