The Evolution of Foreign Aid in Global Health: From Colonial Legacy to Reimagined Futures

• This article examines how foreign aid in global health evolved from colonial relationships to current structures, highlighting both achievements and limitations. Despite successes in disease eradication and reduced child mortality, traditional models face challenges including donor-driven priorities, vertical programming, and power asymmetries. As the post-WWII global health order faces strain from donor fatigue, climate change, and pandemic lessons, opportunities emerge to reimagine more equitable systems. Key pathways forward include decolonizing global health through knowledge diversity, governance reform, and strengthened Global South leadership, while maintaining global collective responsibility through reparative justice and democratic governance structures.