NWO XS Grant (PI: €50,000) for the project ‘Cholera Contagion: The Role of Climate and Mobility in European Pandemics’
- Climate change poses a challenge to human health, as unusual weather fluctuations influence the spread of infectious diseases. One example is cholera, often associated with weather conditions. However, our understanding of its link with climate remains limited, as prior research focuses on recent epidemics, often overlooking the role of human mobility. This project uses interdisciplinary techniques –from history, demography and epidemiology— to study how climate and human mobility shaped cholera diffusion in Europe before 1914, when major epidemics occurred. The project informs debates on how climate affected people’s health in history, and how it may influence future diarrheal disease outbreaks.
NWO Veni Grant (PI: €250,000) for the project ‘Global health inequality and the diffusion of sanitation since 1850’
- Sanitary infrastructures are extraordinarily unequally distributed. Although the long-term roots of these inequalities are well-known, little is understood about their evolution. This project analyzes how local political contexts shaped the global adoption and subsequent diffusion of waterworks and sewerage in major cities worldwide since 1850.
Swedish Research Council Grant (co-applicant: ca. €420,000) for the project ‘Unhealthy Development: The Origins of Health Inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1900–1960’
- The historical roots of low health-related investments in Africa have long been recognized, yet little care has been taken to understand and explain the differential spread of healthcare across the continent. The objective of this project is to investigate the uneven establishment of healthcare and sanitation in colonial Africa, ca 1900-1960. Using largely unexplored primary sources for both former British and French colonies, this research will map and explain the spatial and temporal distribution of healthcare and sanitation infrastructures during the first half of the 20th century, when state-funded healthcare was established on the continent. The project will provide the first-ever comprehensive empirical account of healthcare interventions and outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa before 1960, thus filling a substantial knowledge gap in comparative studies of historical health inequality.
Grant by Emergent Ventures at George Mason University (PI: ca. €20,000) for the project ‘Global epidemics in historical perspective: cholera and yellow fever outbreaks before 1950’
- Cholera and yellow fever played a significant role in shaping societies across the world and were closely intertwined with the development of globalization. The expansion of international trade, migration, colonial networks, and human mobility facilitated the spread of these diseases across continents, turning local outbreaks into international health crises. By examining epidemics before 1950, the project explores how the spread of infectious diseases influenced international relations, disrupted economic activities, and prompted changes in public health policies. These historical patterns also provide a valuable perspective on more recent global health crises, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, which once again demonstrated how interconnectedness and globalization can accelerate the spread of infectious diseases and challenge international cooperation and public health systems.
