Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South

“Who decided that they needed high-tech equipment 
over basic healthcare and medical facilities?”



Join Crystal Simeoni & Wangari Kinoti, Kenyan feminist authors as they discuss the nefarious influence of corporate power in their country’s public health system. 

They are interviewed by DAWN’s feminist economist Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and project associate, Sue Godt, in this special episode about public-private partnerships in Africa. 

The specialists delve into the case study “Medical Equipment Leasing in Kenya: Neocolonial Global Finance & Misplaced Health Priorities”. The conversation sheds light on what amounts to a neocolonial approach to development that has resulted in a dangerous lack of resources to address the most basic healthcare needs of the Kenyan population.

The episode offers paths to reimagining a truly public Africa rising, where African states can define and chart their policy agenda based on public well-being rather than corporate greed. 

This podcast is part of a series of animated and live-action films produced under the project "Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South" that highlights the effects of PPPs on women's lives.

Visit our website to learn more about this project: 
https://dawnnet.org/analysis/public-private-partnerships/

Download for free the case study that originated the film:  
https://bit.ly/3WS1zBq

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Crystal Simeoni is a Kenyan feminist that works with intersectional Pan-African feminist narratives and macroeconomic policy processes and spaces. She is currently an Atlantic Fellow on Social and Economic Inequality at the London School of Economics. 

Wangari Kinoti is a Kenyan feminist activist currently engaged in global policy advocacy on women’s economic justice and structural-based violence. Over the last 16 years, she has campaigned and implemented programmes through civil society and social justice organisations covering women’s political participation, women’s land and natural resource rights, corporate accountability, women’s paid and unpaid labour, gender-responsive public services and violence against women. She is also currently working with other African feminist activists to document histories of feminist organizing in the content.
					
Sue Godt has been engaged with development work, development education and solidarity activism since the 1970s. She has lived in sub-Saharan Africa for over 30 years working at community, national and regional levels. As Senior Programme Specialist for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), she worked with partners to strengthen health policy and systems research programmes, mainly in West Africa, and to draw out lessons from IDRC’s health programme. Sue has a PhD from the University of Bath and continues to collaborate with colleagues and partner organisations. She is currently DAWN’s Senior Researcher & Script Supervisor for the PPP multimedia project. 	
								
Corina Rodríguez Enríquez is a renowned international Feminist economist. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Buenos Aires, her MA in Public Policy from the Institute of Social Studies (The Hague), and her PhD in Social Sciences from Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO). She works as a researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Conicet) [National Council of Scientific and Technical Research] and at the Centro Interdisciplinario para el Estudio de Políticas Públicas (Ciepp, Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Public Policy) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Corina is a member of Gem-Lac (Latin American Gender and Macroeconomic Group), and a Board member of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). Her working areas include Social and Fiscal Policy, Care Economy, Labour Market, Poverty and Income Distribution. Corina is a member of the DAWN Executive Committee.

Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South - Episode 3: The Case of Kenya

En este episodio reflexivo, la renombrada economista feminista Corina Rodríguez Enríquez y la experta en desarrollo internacional Sue Godt sostienen una conversación crucial con lxs invitadxs María Julia Lamberti y Daniel Castrejón, de PODER, sobre las asociaciones público-privadas (APPs) en México.

María Julieta Lamberti, feminista y defensora de derechos humanos, junto con Daniel Castrejón, defensor de derechos humanos, comparten detalles sobre el caso de estudio en el Corredor del Istmo de Tehuantepec, discutiendo cómo las APPs impactan las desigualdades de género y socioeconómicas, destacando la resistencia de las comunidades locales frente a esta estrategia.

El episodio revela las contradicciones en la narrativa oficial sobre el desarrollo, que alza las asociaciones público-privadas como la solución a todos los desafíos de desarrollo, destacando las marcadas disparidades en la pobreza y la concentración de riqueza en México, que son exacerbadas por el modelo de APPs.

El episodio explora también el impacto ambiental de las APPs y su conexión con la crisis climática, señalando la aparente contradicción entre la promoción de energías limpias y el impacto real en las vidas de las personas.

La discusión revela la falta de perspectiva de género en el plan de desarrollo, afectando de manera desproporcionada a mujeres indígenas y afro-mexicanas. También se destacan los problemas de gobernanza, la limitada participación comunitaria y la influencia corporativa en la soberanía nacional.

A pesar de los desafíos, la esperanza emerge de la resistencia y determinación de las comunidades locales, especialmente de las mujeres que lideran la lucha. El episodio ofrece una mirada profunda a las complejidades del desarrollo, destacando la importancia de cuestionar las narrativas convencionales y luchar por un enfoque más inclusivo y sostenible.

Esta producción es parte del proyecto de DAWN "Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South" que destaca los efectos de las APPs en la vida de las mujeres.

Visita nuestro sitio web para obtener más información:
https://bit.ly/dawnppp

"Old Dog, New Tricks": Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South | Episode 6: The Mexico Case

In this thought-provoking episode, renowned feminist economist Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and international development expert Sue Godt will guide you through an in-depth conversation with public health expert Sulakshana Nandi, author of the case study on the impact on women in India of publicly-funded health insurance private-public partnership schemes,  with special reference to Chhattisgarh state. 

Sulakshana helps us reflect on the historical and current context that led to the development of health PPPs in India given the intertwining of global agendas around universal health coverage with the neoliberal frameworks and how they play out at national levels. 

The author argues how the discourse of strategic purchasing for universal health coverage is highly contested on the role of governments and the road map to achieve the universal health coverage objectives. The experience of the implementation of PPPs not only in India but in many countries of the global South has shown that it only led to further commodification and commercialisation of healthcare and worsened equity in access, weakening public services without being able to regulate the private sector.

We also learn from Sulakshana that social movements are growing stronger and more effective in their campaigns to resist neoliberal and anti-democratic changes, and to advocate for progressive change. What other lessons can we learn from the experience of India? 

Join us in this inspiring discussion, a part of DAWN’s multimedia project "Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South", which highlights the effects of PPPs on women's lives.

Learn more: bit.ly/dawnppp

Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South | Episode 7: The India Case

Let’s dive into the impacts of public-private partnerships in Fiji’s health system with researcher and activist Lice Cokanasiga, author of the case study that inspired the film “Luxury Destination”. 

Lice Cokanasiga has been a researcher and campaign assistant with the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG). Her work has revolved around monitoring, tracking and critiquing the blue economy agenda in the region and its impact on indigenous peoples' environment in the Pacific Islands. 

In this thought-provoking interview conducted by feminist economist Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and international development expert Sue Godt, Lice talks about how Fiji has been portrayed as a leader among the Pacific Island countries, with growing economic capacity and influence beyond its borders, supposedly because it has been restructuring its public system and embraced the neoliberal prescriptions for development.

Theoretically, the aim is to alleviate poverty and promote economic growth in the Pacific region. But what Lice shows clearly is how financially powerful actors can effectively influence and steer the direction of policymaking, culminating in initiatives such as the health PPP for Ba and Lautoka hospitals. 

Her research denounces the lack of transparency in this process and examines the impacts of the new investment model adopted to fund the two hospitals. “We need to support those public systems that are working right now, instead of jumping into something that will just cost the country more money, which really should be used to improve the public health systems that we already have that's working”, says the activist. 
What impact are these PPPs having on the foundational health system that has successfully integrated community health care, primary health care, and health promotion?

Join us in this discussion, a part of DAWN’s multimedia project "Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South", which highlights the effects of PPPs on women's lives.

Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South | Episode 8: The Case of Fiji

Join us in this new episode from the podcast series of the project "Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South", as we delve into the complex landscape of PPPs in Ghana. 

Our hosts, feminist economist Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and international development expert Sue Godt will guide us through an in-depth conversation with feminist researchers Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey and Sylvia Ohene Marfo. They are the authors of the case study about public-private partnerships in Dome Market in Ghana’s capital, Accra. Their article inspired the film “The Women’s Market”, launched by DAWN this March and now streaming on YouTube. 

In this engaging conversation, Dzifa Torvikey, a research fellow at the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research at the University of Ghana and Program Officer for the Feminist Africa Journal, and Sylvia Ohene Marfo, a food studies researcher and Research and Program Manager for the Union for African Population Studies, provide a nuanced exploration of Ghana's PPP experiences. They shed light on the historical context, the impact of PPPs on market women traders, and the broader implications for national development.

"Most of the PPP shops are occupied by people who were not part of the market at the beginning. And women who are displaced as a result of the PPP shops—very few of them are still in the market, most of them work selling in sheds or under umbrellas or whatever space they could find in front of other people's shops. So it has really impacted the livelihood of the women who are displaced as a result of the PPP," says Sylvia Ohene Marfo. 

Through the lens of feminism, the dialogue touches upon the challenges faced by market women's associations, the growing class differentiation within the market, and the need for alternative gender frameworks to address socio-economic inequalities exacerbated by neoliberal policies.

Tune in to this thought-provoking episode to deepen your understanding of PPP dynamics in Ghana and explore pathways towards transformative change through the power of grassroots activism.

This episode was produced by DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era), with editing by Alice Furtado and engineering by Ernesto Sena. 

Join us for more insightful discussions on our website and social media platforms. www.dawnfeminist.com

Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South - Episode 9: The Case of Ghana

For the past few years, we’ve been exploring and uncovering how people, particularly women from the global South, are affected by neoliberal economic trends and the ongoing worldwide corporate capture of states and public services. 

In the last episode of the series “Old Dogs, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South,” our hosts Corina Rodríguez Enríquez and Masaya Llavaneras Blanco, members of DAWN’s executive committee, and international development expert Sue Godt discuss the main findings of this comprehensive research project. 

“The value added of this project to the existing research and analysis on PPPs was specifically to apply a feminist analytical framework”, explains Corina Rodríguez Enríquez. “But the study of PPPs should not focus solely on their specific impact on women's lives. It should rather focus on the way they contribute or not to deepen financial capitalism that has commodified life, plunders land, destroys nature, and advances a predatory system that puts profit ahead of the sustainability of life and the boundaries of the planet.”

As we transition from exploration of these issues to action, our all-encompassing research multimedia project serves as a call to arms for change. It's not just an analysis, but a collective effort, a roadmap for resistance against corporate hegemony. We invite everyone to be part of this movement, to understand the processes and linkages that bind us, and to collectively counter them for a more equitable future for our countries and societies. 

Join us in this insightful discussion and check our website for  a freely-available repository of knowledge and inspiration, containing all the films, podcasts and case studies as well as the free downloadable book from “Old Dogs, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & Public-Private Partnerships in the Global South”


www.dawnfeminist.org/projects/public-private-partnerships

Old Dog, New Tricks: Neocolonialism & PPPs in the Global South - Episode 3: The Case of Kenya

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