TY - JOUR T1 - Global health is more than just ‘Public Health Somewhere Else’ JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002545 VL - 5 IS - 5 SP - e002545 AU - Anne-Marie Turcotte-Tremblay AU - Federica Fregonese AU - Kadidiatou Kadio AU - Nazmul Alam AU - Lisa Merry Y1 - 2020/05/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/5/5/e002545.abstract N2 - Summary boxGlobal health can be anywhere as it often focuses on large-scale health inequities that are rooted in transnational determinants.Some global health initiatives and actors aim to find solutions to domestic problems.King and Koski’s definition of global health may exacerbate inequities by reserving the right to call oneself a global health researcher to those who are privileged and have access to funding that enables them to travel to other settings.An inadequate definition of global health based on a ‘here’ vs ‘somewhere else’ dichotomy could result in less funding for a field already characterised by limited resources.The decolonisation of global health requires promoting and valuing reflexivity, critical approaches, equitable partnerships and accountability.King and Koski1 recently published a bold commentary in BMJ Global Health that defines global health as ‘public health somewhere else’. It raises important concerns about the justification, scope, efficiency and accountability of the field. We appreciate that the commentary compels us to reflect on the definition of global health, its application and how the field could be improved. We also agree that many of the issues highlighted by the authors (ie, political priorities driven by the North, expertise from the North being overvalued) do exist in some global health interventions. Many of us have heard of or witnessed disastrous situations caused by seemingly well-intentioned people. However, the problems described are not unavoidable or intrinsic characteristics of global health. Moreover, we believe the proposed definition of global health is not adequate to conceptualise the field. Rather than prompting improvements, it could result in mistrust towards global health and be a step backwards for the field. In the following, we contend that global health is more than just ‘public health somewhere else’ and argue that an inadequate definition entails risks for the … ER -