The origins, scale and impact of public health emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, are determined by underlying societal, economic and political arrangements. The vast resources mobilized in response to the pandemic were unable to offset long years of poor investments in communities. The story of SEWA’s response to the pandemic is important because it elucidates alternative approaches to preparing us for the intractable challenges that lie ahead.
HUM SAB EK, the exhibition, has been designed by an interdisciplinary team of graduate students working closely with women leaders at the forefront of the pandemic response. The oral histories will be donated to the Harvard Countway Library’s History of Medicine archives, and can also be accessed throughout the exhibit. CGIS will be the first stop in a longer journey of storytelling and change, where global artists and scholars will be invited to work with the archival material and with SEWA’s members, to retell, reinterpret and rebuild futures.