International health organizations produce, process, interpret and circulate knowledge on a range of health-related topics, with their programs and guidelines becoming a reference point for policy makers and researchers in diverse national contexts. The systematic creation of such knowledge is, simultaneously, complex and ever more important, with findings of significant disconnects between discourses and practices favoured by global health organizations and the needs and lived realities of the people targeted by their campaigns. Yet, in STS and related fields, surprisingly little is known about these knowledge cultures and how they relate to novel knowledge and technological innovation.

This project investigates the central global health organization of today, the World Health Organization (WHO), as a site of knowledge creation, interpretation and distribution. Using predominantly discourse analysis, and drawing on interview, participant observation and co-creative methods, the focus is on understanding the process of knowledge creation and distribution at the WHO in terms of novel biomedical innovations and breakthrough technologies. The analysis centers on technologies that have transformative effects for women and children in the so-called “Global South” and are so-called frugal technologies, which seek to maximize technological benefit in low-affordance environments.

The project goals promote TranforM’s focus areas on governance and justice with a practical, timely and impactful application in the field of international healthcare.