COVID 19 and BLM are only signs of more to come. Based on decades of field research in remote villages and capital cities of Latin America, Africa and Asia, Chris Simms traces instances of the powerful preying on the powerless, tapping their resources through self-serving policies and practices. He describes today's struggle between science and ideology, public health and economic values and, between greed and selflessness. Set against a background of rising economic, environmental, technological, social and geopolitical global risks, he warns that privileging the present over the future is leading to the ultimate tragedy - the irrevocable loss of planetary health. With governments' ongoing failure to prepare and plan ahead, to monitor, mitigate and adjust, the author concludes we may be getting the leadership we deserve. In this domain of losses he seeks to prescribe a workable way forward. This reader pulls together 50 published articles Chris Simms has written over recent decades to offer a unique and experienced-informed approach to understanding today's multiple global crises including COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, the rise of tribalism and decline in values. The author seeks to investigate and explain the loss and sense of loss suffered by vulnerable populations in high-income countries. He finds that selfishness, short-term thinking and ill-conceived policies in a complex and hyper-connected world now pose a existential threat to the global community and planetary health.

Author Biography

Dr. Simms teaches at Dalhousie University, Faculty of Health, School of Health Administrations. He has lived and worked in many countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar and Peru He has studied at Dalhousie University, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Sussex. He has contributed to international health on various boards including the International Journal of Clinical Practice. He has two teenage children and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.