Global Health Diplomacy

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Global health security and pandemic preparedness and response are rapidly becoming of foreign policy, requiring public health officials to operate within a broader political context. This course introduces students to the concept of Global Health Diplomacy and Global Health Security, starting with historical case studies of how diplomacy has been used to advance health agendas, and conversely, how health issues have been used to improve diplomatic relations between countries. We introduce students to formal health diplomacy, multi-stakeholder health diplomacy and informal health diplomacy, and provide comparative studies of how different countries have devised health diplomacy strategies to advance health security as well as reach foreign policy objectives. We will use current health emergencies and ongoing negotiations to strengthen the global health security architecture to explore core concepts and emerging challenges Most importantly, this course will demonstrate the importance of combining diplomacy with technical understanding of science, technology, epidemiology and medicine in order to achieve outcomes that advance both population health and foreign relations. Now, more than ever, these skills are critical to saving lives, advancing foreign policy, and creating a stronger architecture for pandemic preparedness and global health security. This course will challenge students to read and interpret health related agreements, negotiate a position, and assess the policy context while trying to advance health security.