In sickness and in health: The politics of public health and their implications during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Politics is a major player in health, sickness, and death affairs. This article reviews the role of politics in public health and its impact on health outcomes, mortality ratios, and death scenarios amongst the most vulnerable populations. Furthermore, the article explains the reasons behind the absence of politics from health and public health discourses; and examines the role of politics during the mis/management of COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Foucault's biopower, Mebmbe's necropolitics, and Butler's precarity, the article illuminates how public health policies are highly political insofar as they offer some individuals access to life but create possibilities of death for others. During COVID-19, politics enabled governors to put at risk the most vulnerable groups, the precariat, namely refugees, asylum seekers, stateless, and immigrants, the majority of whom were impoverished. The article presents COVID-19 as an example of a crisis that unmasks these politics, claiming that these politics are not new but rather a continuum of previous invisible policies that COVID-19 unmasked and intensified. The article describes how the politics of health entail privileging individuals with capital value who can benefit the state's interests and maintains its power.

Refugees as a key representation of vulnerability: politics and biopolitics

“…This article confirms that the Covid-19 pandemic encourages neoliberal governments to exert increased measures of surveillance and discipline for population management, whereas the preexisting racial disparities woven into biopower are exacerbated (Sylvia, 2020). It is also confirmed that public health policies are structured through the biopolitical and necropolitical governmentality that sets priorities on what kind of lives are worth saving, based on cynical economic criteria: who benefits the state and who costs the state (Daher-Nashif, 2021).…”

“…However, as explained above, vulnerability arises from a combination of socially situational disadvantage and contributes to an elevated baseline vulnerability to various types of losses occasioned by disasters (Powers, 2016). This finding is interpreted against the politics inherent in health terrain and the adherence of the government to neoliberalism (Daher-Nashif, 2021). However, as Cardona (2020) suggests, the neoliberal rhetoric of individual responsibility adopted at a time of global health is a disastrous criterion to the health and wellbeing for marginalized communities and may stigmatize the poor.…”

“…There is ample evidence that the health crisis of Covid-19 exposed but also exacerbated social vulnerabilities, health inequalities (Cheater, 2020; Marmot and Allen, 2020; Rimmer, 2020), discrimination (Sylvia, 2020) and racial racism (Bowman, 2020). As Covid-19 mortality statistics reveal, many deaths among vulnerable persons could have been prevented if governments had seen their lives as worth saving; instead, they have appeared more willing to save the lives of those who will benefit the state economically (Daher-Nashif, 2021). The dimension of politics remains to a large extent absent from public health discourses, although health policies are highly political endeavors, since they offer some individuals access to life, but create possibilities of death for others.…”

“…The dimension of politics remains to a large extent absent from public health discourses, although health policies are highly political endeavors, since they offer some individuals access to life, but create possibilities of death for others. Especially in times of a profound health crisis, the inherent politics in public health policies challenge the alleged political neutrality of public health (Daher-Nashif, 2021).…”

Efeitos da pandemia de Covid-19 sobre os aspectos psíquicos e comportamentais de atletas: uma revisão sistemática (Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the psychic and behavioral aspects of athletes: a systematic review)

“…Para operacionalizá-la, governantes impuseram múltiplas restrições de acesso à espaços públicos e privados; confinamentos residenciais obrigatórios (lockdown); fechamentos temporários de estabelecimentos comerciais e industriais; usos de máscaras (Adil et al, 2020;Singh et al, 2020). A implantação de tal quadro gerou consequências negativas sobre as atividades econômicas, culturais, educacionais, políticas e sociais que vinham até então acontecendo rotineiramente (Clemente-Suárez et al, 2021;Daher-Nashif, 2021;García-Tascón et al, 2021;Jiménez-Barret & Borges, 2021).…”