Applied global health diplomacy: profile of health diplomats accredited to the UNITED STATES and foreign governments

Matthew D Brown,Thomas E Novotny,Julie N Bergmann,Tim K Mackey

doi:10.1186/s12992-017-0316-7

Abstract

BackgroundGlobal health diplomacy (GHD) is a burgeoning field bridging the priorities of global health and foreign affairs. Given the increasing need to mobilize disparate global health stakeholders coupled with the need to design complex public health partnerships to tackle issues of international concern, effective and timely cooperation among state actors is critical. Health Attachés represent this coordination focal point and are key diplomatic professionals at the forefront of GHD. Despite their unique mandate, little is published about this profession and the perspectives of those who work in the field.MethodsThrough purposive sampling, we performed in-depth qualitative interviews with seven Health Attachés: three foreign Health Attachés accredited to the United States and four U.S. Health Attachés accredited to foreign governments. Our interviews explored four key topics: the role and mission of Health Attachés, skills needed to perform GHD, examples of successes and challenges in accomplishing their respective missions, and suggestions for the future development of the diplomatic profession.ResultsWe identified several lessons to apply to the growing field of GHD. First, GHD actors need to receive appropriate training to successfully negotiate the intersection of global health and foreign affairs. Participants suggested several areas of training that would benefit GHD actors: diplomacy and negotiation, applied science, and cross-cultural competency. Second, participants articulated the need for a career path for GHD practitioners, increased opportunities for on-the-job training and mentored experiences, and GHD competencies with defined levels of mastery that can be used in occupational evaluation and career development.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that skills in diplomacy and negotiation, applied science, and cross cultural competency are essential for the statecraft of Health Attachés. Additionally, establishing a clear career pathway for Health Attachés is critical for future maturation of the profession and for fostering effective global health action that aligns public health and foreign diplomacy outcomes. Achieving these goals would ensure that this special cadre of diplomats could effectively practice GHD and would also better position Health Attachés to take the lead in advancing shared global health goals among nation states in a new era of twenty-first century diplomacy.

Highlights

Global health diplomacy (GHD) is a burgeoning field bridging the priorities of global health and foreign affairs
Our study focuses on describing the perspectives of core GHD actors, primarily the cadre of Health Attachés, both because of their official credentialing status between state actors, and unique experiences serving as representatives of governmental public health institutions
We found that Health Attachés are in a unique position to report on how diplomacy can be applied in the field of global health and foreign affairs as they act as the main advisers to diplomatic personnel regarding public health matters in both their sending and host countries

Summary

Introduction

Global health diplomacy (GHD) is a burgeoning field bridging the priorities of global health and foreign affairs. Achieving strategic national objectives through persuasion and attraction is a critical component in the practice of diplomacy, statecraft, and foreign affairs [3] This is reflected in the growing importance of health security, with today’s world more interconnected and mobile than ever, diseases of global significance cannot be tackled by countries acting in isolation [4]. The global response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 is an acute illustration of the need for timely and effective practice of GHD [7] Illustrating this need, among a list of missteps highlighted by several panels and committees set up to review the performance of the WHO during the outbreak, was a fivemonth delay in the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of an International Concern (PHEIC) and lack of coordination among WHO members states regarding travel bans, in clear violation of the International Health Regulations (IHR), both of which hampered response efforts by the global community and reflect the importance of effective diplomacy in emergency health situations [8, 9]

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