“Things Fall Apart”: The Unravelling of Global Health Governance and the Imperative for Action Preserving Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

International Journal of Infectious Diseases 2026 Open access

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Authors: Eskild Petersen, Ben Marais, Marion Koopmans, Peter Mwaba, Danny Asogun, Moses J. Bockarie, Lucille Blumberg, Delia Goletti, Seif Al Abri, Alessandra Scagliarini, L Simonsen, Francine Ntoumi
+5 more Peter S. Nyasulu, David S Hui, David N Dürrheim, Martin P. Grobusch, Alimuddin Zumla
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108472
Cited by: 3
References: 34

Abstract

In his 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe observes: “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered” [1]. Global health has likewise come to revere achievement—success stories, elimination targets, and aspirational end dates. But Achebe’s novel traces how a seemingly stable society disintegrates when its organising principles erode. The tragedy is not sudden; it is cumulative, and triggered by colonial forces outside of the local culture.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Global Health and Surgery Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research Global Security and Public Health

Publication details

Journal / source
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
165
Pages
108472–108472
Publication date
12 February 2026
Language
EN