The Verbosity Epidemic

Many public health initiatives cite the need for transparency in research. Clarity and honesty are integral to the value of study results, funding sources, and institutional, political, and individual involvement. However, transparency becomes more challenging as the language of international health becomes increasingly convoluted. The terminology used in the field of public health has developed into a code that is nearly incomprehensible. Commonplace vocabulary includes “capacity-strengthening,” “harmonization and alignment,” developing the “fiscal space” for countries “under stress” or with “special needs,” using “cluster strategies,” and “partnerships” between “NGOs, FBOs, CBOs.” But what do these terms actually mean?