Reparations and distributive justice in global health

The drive for reparative justice—to restore or make right—is a critical part of the human condition. Today, from caste supremacy and chattel slavery to colonialism and racial capitalism, 2 demands for reparations and redistributive justice are proliferating globally.3–7 The moral, legal, economic, historical, ecological and political evidence for such claims is abundant, as are the possible modes of redress. Across this diversity, however, reparative efforts are premised on the idea that equitable societies cannot come into being without redress of the physical and social harms that have accrued generationally as a consequence of historical and persisting injustices. Public and individual health are domains where these harms manifest prominently, and our collective efforts to prevent, treat and palliate suffering require both understanding and addressing historically deep social structures that perpetuate health inequities.