Learnings from Nepal subject of new book
By University of Otago | Posted: Wednesday Feb 12, 2025
Associate Professor Susan Heydon’s new book ‘Implementing a global health programme’ will be published this February.
The method the then Himalayan kingdom of Nepal used to eradicate smallpox in the 1960s might seem far removed from how Aotearoa New Zealand implements its health programmes, but Associate Professor Susan Heydon says otherwise.
Ahead of the February release of her book, Implementing a global health programme, the new Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy says New Zealand, and other countries across the globe, could learn from Nepal’s historic smallpox vaccination implementation.
The plan only succeeded because the World Health Organization (WHO) adapted to the local context, Susan says.
This was a significant moment because Nepal was the only country during the WHO’s 1967 global campaign that went through such a decentralised process to overcome the many problems facing implementation of the programme.
WHO’s official history acknowledged that local people made to be the District Supervisors - who managed and championed the vaccine uptake and surveillance and containment of any outbreaks of smallpox - were the vital element to its success.
“The key message of the book is that a programme has to actually reach the people it’s targeting in order to be accepted and succeed,” Susan says.
“Trust and community involvement are key parts of implementing any healthcare scheme and are just as relevant today in New Zealand as they were in Nepal for the smallpox programme nearly 50 years ago.”
This book goes into further details about why implementing the global programme was particularly challenging in Nepal due to not only cultural perspectives, but also geographical, political, social and infrastructure challenges.
Published by Manchester University Press as part of their ‘Social Histories of Medicine’ series, the book acknowledges the key role of the WHO but offers an alternative to the top-down and centre-led standard narrative of the global programme.
Susan is very pleased to see the book she has been working on for several years grow from a casual comment to a story about all that can be achieved despite overwhelming challenges.
“Documenting the history of global heath is vital to ensuring humanity learns from the past and enhances itself into the future.
“I am very happy for my publication to contribute to that idea in some way.”
Kōrero by Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser Kelsey Swart
Pre-order 'Implementing a Global Health Programme: Smallpox and Nepal' from University Book Shop Otago: