The role of maternal and child health in decolonisation in Fiji, 1945-1970
This thesis contributes to historical understanding of decolonisation in the British-colonised South Pacific through a detailed case study of the internationalisation of post-war public health. The role that health policy played in colonisation, both in the South Pacific and empire wide, is well understood, but its part in British decolonisation strategies is less known. Through analysing how Britain used maternal and child health policy to shape decolonisation in Fiji this thesis addresses this underexplored question. The negotiations surrounding health policy decisions reveal much about this process at a territorial, intra-colonial, inter-imperial, and international level. At a territorial and intra-colonial level, maternal and child health was entwined in colonial attempts to manage a charged ethno-political situation in Fiji in the run up to independence. At a regional and international level, the new Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO), attempted to disseminate universal rights and norms in health. Britain, and other imperial powers administrating Pacific Islands, perceived WPRO as a threat to their sovereignty over health and development. They established an
Hartley, Sarah C.
The role of maternal and child health in decolonisation in Fiji, 1945-1970. This thesis contributes to historical understanding of decolonisation in the British-colonised South Pacific through a detailed case study of the internationalisation of post-war public health. The role that health policy played in colonisation, both in the South Pacific and empire wide, is well understood, but its part in British decolonisation strategies is less known. Through analysing how Britain used maternal and child health policy to shape decolonisation in Fiji this thesis addresses this underexplored question. The negotiations surrounding health policy decisions reveal much about this process at a territorial, intra-colonial, inter-imperial, and international level. At a territorial and intra-colonial level, maternal and child health was entwined in colonial attempts to manage a charged ethno-political situation in Fiji in the run up to independence. At a regional and international level, the new Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO), attempted to disseminate universal rights and norms in health. Britain, and other imperial powers administrating Pacific Islands, perceived WPRO as a threat to their sovereignty over health and development. They established an
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