Weave another Basket of Knowledge? A remote collaborative research on the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

From the experience of the project Indigenous Responses to COVID-19 in Brazil: social arrangements and global health (PARI-c), in the region of Alto Rio Negro (AM), we seek to reflect in this article on the possibilities and implications of collaborative knowledge production with indigenous researchers, taking into account the health emergency, territorial immobilities, social inequalities, and epistemological and ontological policy differences. From the idea of Baskets of knowledge, we think about the forms and possibilities of this collaboration, in the light of contemporary discussions on processes of “decolonization” of public health (global, planetary) and health knowledge. The empirical basis for this article is a description of the methodological experience of knowledge production, focused on two aspects: the field and writing. This material allows us to make some considerations around the relevance and meaning of ways of generating “hybrid knowledge”, to deal with contexts of global crises or syndemics. These ways, as we shall see, cross the realignment of alliances and find a special focal point on women’s writing.

Missing in action: a scoping review of gender as the overlooked component in decolonial discourses

“…Six papers focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights19–24 with a further two papers specifically on maternal health,25 26 while five papers focused on mental health,27–31 three papers discussed health in humanitarian settings,30 32 33 two papers focused on planetary health34 35 and one paper focused on non-communicable diseases 36. Five papers had a focus on pandemics, ranging from prevention37 to transmission38 to response,39–41 and one highlighted the challenges surrounding the production and distribution of vaccines 42. Nine papers had a service delivery focus which analysed the impact of (de)coloniality on service provision21 25 39 43 44 and service providers,23 36 45 46 while seven analysed community engagement in research methods40 44 47–50 and programme design 38.…”

“…Five papers had a focus on pandemics, ranging from prevention37 to transmission38 to response,39–41 and one highlighted the challenges surrounding the production and distribution of vaccines 42. Nine papers had a service delivery focus which analysed the impact of (de)coloniality on service provision21 25 39 43 44 and service providers,23 36 45 46 while seven analysed community engagement in research methods40 44 47–50 and programme design 38. Seven papers concentrated on Indigenous health, of which four studied the health of Indigenous peoples39 40 43 46 and three discussed Indigenous conceptions of health 34 37 49…”

“…The impact of persistent coloniality in global health research has been a notable feature of the broader decolonising global health discourse. Of the 53 papers that discussed (de)coloniality and gender, 18 articles focused on global health research encompassing research partnerships,51–54 underlying epistemologies45 55 56 and methodological approaches,32 33 40 47 50 through to publication 57. Some of these papers were focused at the level of the individual,58 while others addressed structural and systemic factors driving inequity 59–62.…”

“…44 Furthermore, the international nature of global health means that considerations of the contemporary political economy must extend beyond national borders, practically demonstrated by the way in which the Global Gag Rule (GGR) impacts the funding, service implementation and agency of organisations in receipt of US global health assistance during Republican administrations. As observed by Lane, Ayeb-Karlsson and Shahvisi, the GGR not only imposes restrictions on grant recipients Table 1 The final set of 53 papers reviewed, categorised by nature of engagement with gender Papers that discussed (de)coloniality and gender (n=27) Papers that discussed the intersection of (de)coloniality and gender (n=26) Abouzeid et al 53 Bourbonnais 24 Capella and Jadhav 27 Chapman et al 25 Cullen et al 43 Demir 61 Dhar 28 Douedari et al 32 Egid et al 47 Eni et al 46 Finkel et al 58 Giuliani et al 65 Irfan and St Jean 38 Khan et al 70 Kronick, Jarvis and Kirmayer 30 Lazaridou and Fernando 31 Mbali and Rucell 62 Montgomery 51 Olivar et al 40 Olusanya, Mallewa and Ogbo 57 Price et al 67 Rambukwella 41 Sekalala et al 42 Skopec et al 63 Smith, Penados and Gahman 49 Voller et al 54 Walsh, Brugha and Byrne 52 Abimbola et al 69 Báez and Soto-Lafontaine 20 Baquero, Benavidez Fernández and Acero Aguilar 34 Besson 60 Bhandal 64 Brisbois, Spiegel and Harris 55 Büyüm et al 59 Gumbonzvanda, Gumbonzvanda and Burgess 48 Hankivsky…”