Around the world, government officials fail often at implementing policy and public sector projects. Here's why. As Canada’s federal government starts looking for a replacement for its failed payroll system and the Ontario provincial government launches yet another major shake-up of its health-care system, it’s useful to remind decision-makers of a long history of failures in major public sector implementations. Research from around the world shows a consistent pattern of failures in public sector policy and project implementation. Yet we continue to embark upon implementa…

A University of Cape Town medical student doing yoga for a project that draws on ideas from medical and health humanities. Imagine bringing the best of all academic disciplines, artistic creations, activist experience and health care knowledge to bear on understanding and addressing current health care concerns. Rather than silos of people working in their specific areas of interest, imagine collaborations committed to listening and learning from all participants. This is the vision of Medical and Health Humanities in Africa. It’s a field that grew out of the medica…