Translation in global health emergencies

Abstract

The link between translation and global health is an important yet under-researched topic. COVID-19 has opened a significant responsibility and a vast space for translation scholars in approaching this topic. Starting from a brief survey of research on translation and global health, this article examines the roles of translators and interpreters in knowledge translation, and thus in the combat against COVID-19 pandemic by investigating two cases, i.e., Handbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment and Jin Ji’s interpreting service in Italy. It is revealed that translators and interpreters have functioned as initiators, messengers, and co-producers of COVID-19 knowledge and they, in collaboration with other actors (health practitioners, medical researchers, policymakers, etc.), have contributed to the empowerment of patients and ordinary citizens in the fight. The author argues that translation plays an indispensable part in the transcendence of frontiers (sectorial, disciplinary, cultural, and geographic) in knowledge translation, especially during global health emergencies.