Discurso filantrocapitalista e a promoção da saúde mental global

Abstract

The pursuit of legitimate and democratic global health governance seems to be increasingly of interest to actors on the international stage. This is reflected in the growing number of stakeholders interested in assessing and providing solutions to global health conditions, whether through multilateral efforts by the World Health Organization or in bilateral projects with billion-dollar funds through philanthropic institutions. However, some critical perspectives argue that international philanthropy operates within a Western capitalist framework, constituting what is referred to as philanthrocapitalism, where the health sector is used merely to justify interventionist actions through neoliberal, technocratic, and colonial rationalities. In this context, the objective is to analyze the projects proposed by philanthropic institutions in the field of global mental health promotion, with the aim of exposing the agendas of these programs. The focus on the area of global mental health is important because it is an emerging concept area that is highly contested in terms of definitions and actions, allowing for reflection on the modulations and contradictions that may be shaping mental health promotion within contemporary global health governance. The perspective of highlighting philanthropy as a funder of this governmentality in mental health projects seeks to provoke questions about the nature of the power of knowledge and the social and ethical impacts of this model of global governance.