Merrill Singer is a medical anthropologist whose work examines the intersection of disease, social conditions, and political economy. He developed the concept of syndemics — the synergistic interaction of multiple epidemics, shaped by social inequality, that worsen each other beyond their independent effects.
Core ideas
- Syndemics: Singer argued that diseases do not occur in isolation but cluster and interact in populations experiencing poverty, racism, and other forms of structural violence. The syndemic framework insists that effective public health requires addressing social conditions, not just individual diseases.