Global health diplomacy: how foreign policy can influence health

Health issues have received unprecedented attention in global policy negotiations in recent decades. Ongoing global health challenges, the pressing need to address global health disparities, and recent calls for collaboration as part of the sustainable development goals process have contributed to increasing consideration of the intersection among global health, foreign policy, and diplomacy. These developments have resulted in ‘global health diplomacy’. This chapter examines the links between health and foreign policy and how global health diplomacy is employed to influence global politics. It further investigates some of the instruments used in global health diplomacy, including recommendations/resolutions, international agreements, and regulations. How and why health issues reach the political agendas of foreign ministries are also examined. The chapter then discusses how to evaluate and improve global health diplomacy processes and raises research questions for advancing the academic study of global health diplomacy and why it remains important.

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Analisis Arah Global Health Diplomacy Indonesia dalam COVID-19: Kooperatif atau Kompetitif?

Jurnal Mandala : Jurnal Ilmu Hubungan Internasional ◽

10.33822/mjihi.v4i2.2450 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 37-51

Author(s):

Dovana Hasiana ◽

Richo Sunjaya ◽

Salsabila Putri B ◽

Clariza Farell

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Global Health ◽

International Relations ◽

21St Century ◽

Spillover Effects ◽

Global Health Diplomacy ◽

Health Diplomacy ◽

Border Policy ◽

Century Health

COVID – 19 is an unprecedented occasion that forces every state to adapt to the current changes in the dynamics of international relations. The impacts that are given by the Pandemic are not only on the health aspects, but also give the spillover effects to some aspects, such as economy and social, as the result of the closed-border policy and the restrictions policy on trading. By that means, the holistic and comprehensive approaches are needed to tackle the pandemic. Furthermore, Global Health Diplomacy is considered as one of the instruments or means to tackle the impacts of it. Notwithstanding, there are some states which implement the Me First Policy, especially at the beginning of the Pandemic. This paper examines Indonesia Foreign Policy through Global Health Diplomacy during COVID – 19 and to analyses the characteristics of the policy, either cooperative or competitive. This paper uses the concept of Global Health Diplomacy by Kickbusch and Told on 21st Century Health Diplomacy: A New Relationship between Foreign Policy and Health, Global Health Diplomacy: The Need for New Perspectives, Strategic Approaches and Skills in Global Health, by Kickbusch, Ilona; Silberschmidt, Gaudenz; Buss, Paulo and the concept of Global Health Diplomacy by Khazatzadeh-Mahani, A., Ruckert, A., & LabontÉ, R Through its Global Health Diplomacy, Indonesia is aiming to implement the policy which are based on the solidarity and cooperativeness.

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Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy

Globalization and Health ◽

10.1186/1744-8603-6-14 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 14 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Ronald Labonté ◽

Michelle L Gagnon

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Global Health ◽

Global Health Diplomacy ◽

Health Diplomacy ◽

Health And Foreign Policy

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Global health diplomacy in Mexico: insights from key actors in the field

Globalization and Health ◽

10.1186/s12992-021-00789-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

German Guerra ◽

Emanuel Orozco ◽

Paulina Jiménez ◽

Arne Ruckert ◽

Ronald Labonté ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Global Health ◽

National Level ◽

World Health ◽

Local Health ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Global Health Diplomacy ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Health Diplomacy ◽

The Government

Abstract Background Global health diplomacy (GHD) focuses on the actions taken by diverse stakeholders from different nations –governments, multilateral agents, and civil society– to phenomena that can affect population health and its determinants beyond national borders. Although the literature on conceptual advancements of GHD exists, empirical studies about how health becomes an issue of relevance for foreign policy are scarce. We present an analysis of the entry processes of health into the foreign policy and diplomatic domains in Mexico from the perspective of key informants of three different sectors. Methods A purposive sample of high-rank representatives of three sectors involved in GHD was designed: Two from Health Sector (HS), four from Foreign Affairs Sector (FAS), and three from Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted exploring the topics of: (1) Health concerns entering diplomatic and foreign policy; (2) Processes that allow actors to influence foreign policy and negotiation and; (3) Impact of multilateral negotiations on decision-making at the national level. Results Our analysis suggests that GHD in Mexico is hierarchically driven by the FAS and health concerns only enter foreign policy when they are relevant to national priorities (such as trade or security). HS possesses a lesser degree of influence in GHD, serving as an instance of consultation for the FAS when deciding on health-related issues at global meetings (i.e., World Health Assembly). NGOs resort to lobbying, advocacy, networking, and coalition-working practices with other sectors (academy, think-tanks) to prevent harmful impacts on local health from multilateral decisions and as a mean to compensate its power asymmetry for influencing GHD processes in relation to the government. Conclusions GHD in Mexico occurs in a context of asymmetric power relationships where government actors have the strongest influence. However, NGOs’ experience in raising awareness of health risks needs to be weighted by government decision-makers. This situation calls for capacity building on intersectoral communication and coordination to create formal mechanisms of GHD practices, including the professionalization and training on GHD among government agencies.

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