Inequalities in Global Health: An Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic Response by Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania through a Postcolonial Lens

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the world's social and economic well-being. Given the asymmetrical nature of the international system, the effects of the pandemic are more damaging to some countries than others. Sharp declines in the capital and remittance flow in low and middle-income countries have occurred, along with oil and commodity prices reductions. Most literature looks at inequalities at the national and sub-national levels and focuses on individuals, communities, and domestic structures. However, historical and global systems that underpin health inequalities have not been significantly and boldly studied. This study focuses on inequalities in global health governance through a post-colonial lens. In this regard, the study sought to understand the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and whether established ties to colonialism still influence the nature of global governance in health while recognizing the agency of Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania through World Health Organization (WHO) and other international intergovernmental organizations. The study was based on a case study research design and a mixed model using both qualitative and quantitative data. Collected data were subjected to content and thematic analysis to project critical themes and findings. As a result, the following themes emerged: Militarized Response; Agency, Fragile Healthcare, and Rationality in the Pandemic, which exposed the enduring effect of the colonial legacies. Amongst other recommendations, respondents called on the three States to offer social protection to their most vulnerable populations, such as the unemployed and elderly; and invest resources in the health sector to have enough trained medical personnel and attain the capacity to conduct advanced research into vaccines for emerging public health emergency of international concern of catastrophic proportions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.