Research summary
“Evidentiary sovereignty” refers to the power to determine what knowledge is admissible in global decision-making. As Canada Research Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation, Dr. Robert Lorway is trying to determine the role that evidentiary sovereignty plays in technocratic regimes (governments whose leaders are chosen for their technical expertise) when it comes to governing marginalized communities’ access to health services.
More specifically, he is engaging a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, health officials, program implementers and community health leaders to gather the evidence needed to inform an HPV prevention, detection and treatment program for Kenyan men who have sex with men. He and his research team are also examining the ethical implications of HIV research by directly engaging sex worker activists in Nairobi in a knowledge-exchange process. To do this, they are exploring concrete ways to de-monopolize data use to enhance evidence-based community advocacy and community-led program delivery in the context of global health interventions.