in the early 1950s, and in 2015 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery ‘concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites’. Some researchers doubt the authenticity of oral history as a reliable evidence base yet, as many of us have found, other supposedly more legitimate sources can be equally contentious. Consequently, this book features comprehensive oral testimony from Godal and other key actors, which give the story added vitality and intimacy. Moreover, the book takes the reader behind the scenes of decision making, and brings them inside the Gates Foundation, inside the corridors of power at the World Bank, inside the laboratories of big pharmaceutical companies, and inside the minds of those who were present at the decisive moments in global public health. This book, however, is not a conventional biography of Tore Godal, nor is it a complete history of global health; it is the story of some of the decisive moments in global health composed in a rich personal setting. Godal’s early ambition was to be a District Medical Officer in his home valley in rural Norway. That early dream would later transcend national boundaries, and over six decades through his work as a doctor, scientist, field worker and global health diplomat, Tore Godal has become the closest thing we have to a World District Medical Officer. We are going to need more people like him in the future. The challenges we face in the 21st century are fundamentally global, our world ever-more interconnected, as demonstrated so powerfully by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending threat of climate change. Click here to find out more
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