Human Genetics with Global Aspirations: Inventing Community Genetics within and beyond the World Health Organization (1960s–2000s)
The lack of investment in noninfectious diseases by international health organizations after World War II is an understudied topic. By examining the global trajectory of hereditary and congenital disorders within and beyond the WHO, the authors provide insight into the reasons for this failure to invest in noncommunicable diseases management. In the 1970s, a network of geneticists, physicians, and WHO officials aimed to address the most frequent hereditary disorders, notably thalassemia, by putting them on the organization’s agenda. However, despite significant epidemiological stakes, community genetics did not expand globally. The paper examines how Global South instantiations have reshaped aspirations for Southern alternatives to medical genetics as it had developed in the Global North. It also emphasizes the importance of analyzing new discursive activities in the field of global health and the characteristics and practical implications of these global aspirations, such as program funding, design, and operation.