In December, I had the privilege of attending the Africa Bitcoin Convention (ABC) in Accra, Ghana. As a public well being professor with a background in well being training and neighborhood well being, this will likely appear to be an odd convention to attend, however this journey was pivotal for me because it introduced me to my father’s start nation for the primary time and related me to the wonder and resilience of Ghanaians, their battle for freedom, and cemented my concepts that cash is a public well being situation.
Whereas in Ghana, I met extremely vibrant folks from engineers to grassroots neighborhood educators from varied elements of the continent and the world, together with just a few fellow Canadians. I additionally had the prospect to fulfill with certainly one of my uncles for the primary time, and we walked round Kwame Nkrumah sq. on a superbly sunny and sizzling day. We toured the park the place Nkrumah’s Mausoleum was, and my uncle proudly walked round with me, every landmark and memorabilia, and we realized about Kwame Nkrumah’s life and political reign because the President of Ghana. I used to be capable of revisit Nkrumah’s story which led Ghana to independence in 1957, a day celebrated by Ghanaians and lots of Africans, as this present day represented hope and true freedom.
A number of days later, I toured the College of Ghana, Legon campus, a beautiful and intellectually vibrant campus. Amongst different locations, I walked into the campus bookstore and was immediately drawn to books on subjects of decentralized authorities and central banking, particularly books by Kwamena Ahwoi and Ivor Ageman-Duah.
This led me to replicate on a few of the discussions at ABC about points associated to the centralization of cash. These points made me notice that centralized cash, particularly fiat cash, which is imposed on many voters internationally by governmental decree, is dangerous to public well being as a result of it’s marred by debt, corruption, colonial management constructions, and lack of clear guidelines. What number of hundreds of thousands of African lives may have been saved, wars prevented, staff, and companies free of financial shackles if cash was not constructed upon debt?
Public well being is finally about what we, as people in society, select to do to guard ourselves, households, and our communities. If we proceed to repeat our previous actions, we feature on to construct public well being interventions on a flawed socioeconomic basis and treating signs of a damaged financial system. Thus, I’ve come to the conclusion that we have to discover the deserves of latest cash like bitcoin so it could type a extra sturdy base layer of society.
What’s Cash?
Cash is meant to be a medium of trade, unit of an account, and a retailer of worth [1]. Nonetheless, our cash in the present day is way from a retailer of worth. These days, folks should earn their cash twice: first, work to earn a paycheck, and secondly, determining a method to make investments a portion in property or monetary merchandise as a result of their {dollars} lose worth resulting from inflation and forex debasement. This example impacts on a regular basis peoples’ skill to maintain up with the price of their dwelling and thus negatively impacts their lives and well being in devastating methods. It additionally causes costs of meals and vitality to rise [2]. Research present that debt and monetary stress is related to varied antagonistic well being outcomes akin to melancholy, suicide ideation, weight problems, and heart problems [3, 4]. Around the globe these well being points are at epidemic ranges.
Traditionally, the financial system of fiat cash and debt has been neglected by earlier analysis [5]. In lots of nations, cash is centrally managed, printed out of skinny air by authorities, and serviced by debt contributing to disaster conditions. Additionally, the foundations of how cash is created and circulated is opaque to the on a regular basis particular person. This hurts working-class individuals who save in cash that depreciates over time. Subsequently, there’s a want for cash that can not be debased by central authorities so folks can protect the fruits of their labor. Cash, like bitcoin, may encourage extra low-time choice behaviors the place folks may really save and work much less thereby lowering stress and detrimental psychological well being issues related to monetary worries of the longer term.
Bitcoin is public software program code that permits for an open peer-to-peer system of cash that anybody can be part of and is dominated by guidelines and never rulers. Extra particularly, it’s a new financial community that’s deflationary and counter to the prevailing inflationary system of fiat cash that operates all over the world. Should you haven’t already, I invite you to re-visit Bitcoin and ask your self why chances are you’ll be dismissing it. Bitcoin is just not “crypto” and isn’t the reason for the scams on fraudulent exchanges like FTX. To find out about cash creation and the ills that it spawns in society, I encourage you to learn books like:
The Fiat Commonplace by Saifedean Ammous.Bitcoin is Higher by Daniel Hershberger.The Hidden Value of Cash by Seb Bunney. The Value of Tomorrow by Jeff Sales space, Fiat Ruins All the pieces, by Jimmy Tune, andBroken Cash by Lyn Alden.
Debt-based cash is a public well being situation, and we should begin recognizing it as such.
The Well being Affect Pyramid and The Base Layer
In 2010, Dr. Thomas Frieden, an American infectious illness physician and public well being doctor revealed “A Framework for Public Well being Motion: The Well being Affect Pyramid,” a concept that’s extensively utilized in well being promotion in the present day [6]. In it, the five-layered pyramid reveals a hierarchy of public well being and well being interventions. On the base layer are socioeconomic components which might be foundational to creating the best inhabitants influence. Frieden goes on to say that “interventions specializing in the decrease ranges of the pyramid are typically simpler as a result of they attain broader segments of society and require much less particular person effort.”
Given the significance of socioeconomic components, I imagine that public well being and well being care professionals ought to intervene to enhance this base layer of inhabitants well being by inspecting the underlying well being of fiat cash and advocating for higher cash. If fiat cash is certainly damaged it can not adequately assist public well being intervention. “Earnings” or “residing wages” are ceaselessly advocated for; nevertheless, these components are downstream from cash. Successfully, if we hold advocating for secondary components to vary when the bottom layer of cash is damaged, it is sort of a physician treating the signs of a illness with out first addressing the basis trigger.
Public Well being Advocacy
Nearly 100 years in the past, earlier than Frieden’s work, the Canadian Public Well being Affiliation (CPHA) was established as a sovereign voice within the nation with connections to the worldwide neighborhood [7]. Around the globe, comparable organizations exist, just like the American Public Well being Affiliation, Africa Healthcare Federation, European Public Well being Affiliation, Affiliation of Asian Pacific Group Well being Organizations, Public Well being Affiliation of Australia, and Public Well being Affiliation of New Zealand to call just a few. These organizations play an lively function in shaping coverage and public discourse within the area of public well being and well being care. For instance, CPHA performs a significant function in advocacy for bringing consciousness to points that warrant nationwide consideration. Over the previous seven years, CPHA has referred to as consideration to a number of points together with naming psychological well being, local weather change, and even racism a public well being situation. More and more, points associated to the social determinants like anti-racism have acquired quite a lot of consideration each nationally and regionally given its associations with colonialism and inequality. This and elevated nationwide recognition of inequality in Canada has contributed to the renaming of outstanding locations within the nation like Ryerson College, which is now referred to as Toronto Metropolitan College and most lately there have been talks led by Toronto’s Metropolis Council to rename Younger-Dundas Sq. to Sankofa Sq. [8].
As a Ghanaian Caribbean Canadian, this actually strikes me as a superficial method to deal with social inequality in Canada. Sankofa is a time period that derives from the Akan Tribe of Ghana that’s depicted by a hen that’s wanting again with an egg that signifies the longer term, saying “All the time bear in mind the previous for therein lies the longer term, if forgotten we’re destined to repeat it.” [9] Renaming historic and outstanding locations within the metropolis could also be acceptable ought to there be sufficient community-backing; nevertheless, if it fails to handle the basis dysfunction on the base layer, debt-based cash.
If we’re to replicate upon historical past, cowrie shells have been as soon as used as cash in West Africa. Ultimately, European merchants infiltrated the system and debased the cowrie shells which diminished their financial worth [10]. Whereas the European merchants disturbed the native economies, we have to have a look at the bigger situation that no matter race, man’s coronary heart is rarely glad and is lured to need extra. This similar trait is existent in our present centralized financial programs in Canada and all over the world. We’d like cash that can not be debased by one other human being.
The Way forward for Public Well being and Cash
As public well being professionals, it’s essential for us to dig into the problems we stand behind and perceive the function that cash itself performs within the social determinants that influence well being. Presently, in Canada, common fundamental earnings is a sizzling matter, and intense analysis and debate is underway to suggest a nationwide framework [11]. Such proposals by previous presidential candidates in the USA and elsewhere have additionally introduced this as much as deal with inequities. Election years are at present upon us, now in the USA and in 2025 in Canada and public well being and healthcare professionals ought to have an lively voice in defending decentralized cash, i.e., bitcoin, so the free market can select the perfect cash for society.
Public well being and well being care professionals ought to contemplate the next three main factors:
Study in regards to the historical past of cash: Learn books, watch, and take heed to podcasts that discover the evolution and improvements of cash and the way centralized fiat cash can result in poor outcomes for society. Some notable podcasts embody Natalie Brunell’s “Exhausting Cash” present; Preston Pysh’s “Bitcoin Fundamentals”; Robert Breedlove, “What’s Cash?”; Peter McCormack’s “What Bitcoin Did”; and movies by Luke Broyles and BTC Periods (Ben Perrin). Additionally, contemplate becoming a member of your native Bitcoin meetup group to study extra about Bitcoin with folks in your neighborhood or contemplate volunteering with nonprofits like Bitcoin is Higher that goals to introduce Bitcoin as sound cash to the working class.Naming Debt-Cash as a Public Well being Concern: As we enter election years now in nations akin to the USA and Canada, public well being and well being care professionals ought to contemplate elevating their voices to call debt-money as a well being situation. The detrimental results of a centralized monetary system on the socioeconomic standing of people, which instantly impacts well being outcomes, ought to be explored, acknowledged, and addressed.Selling Public Discourse on Bitcoin: Public discourse ought to embody conversations round what insurance policies are wanted to guard all residents’ entry to a decentralized system like Bitcoin. Extra particularly, we should always overtly look at what well being outcomes and social fairness would appear like if there was a worldwide financial system that drew its financial vitality from a base of solely 21,000,000 divisible models. May life, and particularly public well being, be higher?
References
Manuel Tacanho, (2022) https://mises.org/wire/money-what-it-more-important-question-why-it Date accessed February 17, 2024Ainul Mohsein, A.M., Taib, F.M, & Sani, S.A. (2019). Rising Value of Residing: The Function of Fiat Cash and Cash Creation. Worldwide Journal of Accounting, Finance and Enterprise (IJAFB), 4(22), 116-125Swarup, S. S., et al. (2024). “Cardiovascular penalties of economic stress: A scientific assessment and meta-analysis.” Present Issues in Cardiology 49(2): 102153.Turunen, E., Hiilamo, H. Well being results of indebtedness: a scientific assessment. BMC Public Well being 14, 489 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-489Friedline, T., Chen, Z. & Morrow, S. (2021). Households’ Monetary Stress & Nicely-Being: The Significance of the Financial system and Financial Environments. J Fam Econ Iss 42 (Suppl 1), 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09694-9Frieden, T.R. (2010, April). A framework for public well being motion: The well being influence pyramid. American Journal of Public Well being, 100 (4), 590–595. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.185652Canadian Public Well being Affiliation, https://www.cpha.ca/vision-and-mission, Date accessed February 17, 2024Toronto Metropolis Council Approves “Sankofa Sq.” as new title for Yonge-Dundas Sq. and initiates plans to rename different Metropolis property that embody the title Dundas:https://www.toronto.ca/information/toronto-city-council-approves-sankofa-square-as-new-name-for-yonge-dundas-square-and-initiates-plans-to-rename-other-city-assets-that-include-the-name-dundas/ Date accessed February 17, 2024 Kwarteng, Appiah Kubi (2016), Journal of Utilized Christian Management: Vol. 10: No. 1, 60-69.The Shell Cash of the Slave Commerce, Jan Hogendorn, Marion Johnson https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/topics/historical past/regional-history-after-1500/shell-money-slave-tradeWhen may Common Fundamental Earnings begin in Canada, Christl Dabu, https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/when-could-universal-basic-income-start-in-canada-1.6770762, Date accessed February 17, 2024
