Towards a Decolonial Theoretical Framework for Comparative Medicine in the Comoros: An African Regional Perspective (2021–2026)

This theoretical article addresses the imperative to decolonise comparative medicine studies within African contexts, using the Comoros as a focal case. It critiques dominant Eurocentric paradigms that frequently frame African medical systems through a deficit lens, arguing they inadequately capture the dynamic pluralism and epistemic validity of Comorian health landscapes. The objective is to construct a novel, decolonial theoretical framework that recentres African regional perspectives in analysing medical knowledge and practice. Methodologically, the article employs a critical, integrative synthesis of literature from 2021 to 2026, engaging with emerging African scholarship on epistemic justice, medical pluralism, and endogenous health systems. This is combined with an analysis of contemporary Comorian practices, where biomedicine, traditional medicine, and religious healing actively coexist and interact. The core argument posits that a rigorous comparative medicine for the Comoros must be rooted in ontological pluralism, recognising multiple, co-constituting realities of health and illness. Consequently, the proposed framework prioritises local logics, historical depth, and the agency of Comorian practitioners and communities in knowledge production. Its significance lies in offering a structured tool for more equitable and contextually rigorous health systems research, challenging extractive academic models. The work implies a substantive reorientation of policy and practice towards integrative, culturally coherent health strategies that affirm African epistemic sovereignty.