Luchuo Engelbert Bain: The Role of Solutions-Based Scholarship and Communications for African Health Diplomacy

Luchuo Engelbert Bain, Head of International Programs at African Population and Health Research Center and Member, shared a post LinkedIn:

“Health Communications Otherwise: The Role of Solutions-Based Scholarships and Communications for a Meaningful African Health Diplomacy

In the face of persistent global health inequities, it is no longer sufficient for scholarship or communication to merely diagnose problems. Public health discourse—especially within the African context—must pivot toward proactive, solution-oriented approaches that do more than critique.

I argue that there is a pressing need to shift this paradigm through a bold, proactive, and unapologetically African health communications strategy: one grounded in showcasing homegrown innovations and African-led responses to African health challenges.

This approach resists the pathology-focused narratives often dominant in global health storytelling, replacing them with affirmative examples rooted in context, culture, and capability.

Take, for instance, Rwanda’s swift and effective control of the Mpox outbreak. It wasn’t an abundance of financial resources that drove this public health success—it was decisive leadership, resilient systems, meaningful multisectoral partnerships, and an unambiguous recognition of the centrality of community engagement in outbreak response.

The lesson: African excellence in health response is not theoretical—it’s tangible, and it must be made visible.

Even beyond the health sector, transformative African-born solutions are changing lives. Kenya’s MPESA, the world’s leading mobile money platform, has revolutionized financial access and inclusion for millions. Though not a health intervention per se, MPESA has enabled healthcare-related innovations from remote payments to micro-insurance, illustrating how African ingenuity transcends sectoral silos. It is a call to health innovators to be bolder and more expansive in envisioning health system resilience.

By grounding analysis and communication in lived realities—and boldly amplifying what’s working, an African public health science communication otherwise is strategically positioned to command the respect of what works and is indispensable in forging a globally respected and well deserved African health diplomacy agenda.

Investing in training a critical mass of health experts and scientists in effective health communications, and the power of communications in health diplomacy is a critical need that deserves significant recognition and funding!!!”