The exploration of power dynamics and equity in the context of global health educational partnerships – an interview with Dr Dawit Wondimagegn.

Dr Dawit Wondimagegn is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Addis Abba University School of Medicine and Chief Executive Director of Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Ethiopia.The central tenet of his work is the exploration of power dynamics and equity in the context of global health educational partnerships. These are unique opportunities for mutual learning and development, however historical factors determined the import/export model to be dominant. His research as part of a group of global community of researchers focuses on unpacking the problem power imbalances create in terms of marginalizing local knowledge. The gap in the understanding of these imbalances is determined by the lack of evidence for the presence of local knowledge, the lack of clarity as to how forms of knowledge are merged and adapted to different cultures, the lack of ‘models ‘of partnerships which address inequity and our challenge to promote agency among local communities that we live in and serve.  Through his work, he interrogates and realigns this pattern in a more positive orientation.