Health Diplomacy: the New Relationship between Health and Foreign Policy

Abstract

The concept of global health diplomacy applies both to an organization and to processes of communication and negotiation that shape and govern the international political context of public health and its determinants. The presentation will highlight 4 dimensions that have contributed to strengthening the relevance of global health diplomacy :

1. Foreign ministries are increasingly involved in health issues.
2. The number of forums in which health diplomacy is expressed is multiplying, and a host of new players have become (health) diplomats.
3. Globalization, changes in the donor-recipient relationship, new types of health alliances and the rise of South-South cooperation, all accentuate the need for health diplomacy.
4. There is a growing need for skilled health diplomats.

If done well, global health diplomacy leads to improved global health status, growing equity, better relations and trust between states, and the commitment of a wide range of actors to work together to advance health globally and nationally. Capacity building is crucial in this new field of global health.

Ilona Kickbush

Ilona Kickbush directs the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is a leading contributor to academic and policy debates on global health governance, and organizes seminars on global health diplomacy in many parts of the world. She advises the World Health Organization (WHO) at regional and global level. In Switzerland, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Careum Foundation. She advises organizations, government agencies and the private sector on health promotion policies and strategies at national, European and international level. She has published widely and sits on a large number of advisory committees in both the academic and health policy fields. She has received numerous awards. She has held senior positions at the WHO and headed the Department of Global Health at the Yale University School of Public Health (USA).