Global health: Global health diplomacy

• Published in: Journal of global health Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 020354
• Main Author: Kuriakose, Shinu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Edinburgh Edinburgh University Global Health Society 01.12.2020; International Society of Global Health
• Subjects: Agreements; Cooperation; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 vaccines; Decision making; Disease prevention; Foreign policy; Global health; Health care policy; Intellectual property; Mortality; Pandemics; Poverty; Property rights; Public health; Viewpoints; Viruses
• ISSN: 2047-2978; 2047-2986
• DOI: 10.7189/jogh.10.020354

The issues inherent in the study of global health such as poverty, maternal and child morbidity and mortality, disease prevention, vaccinations, and the paucity of food and water do play an outsize role while framing foreign policy and diplomacy. Some examples include: promoting the trade of alcohol and nicotine over international borders although this is detrimental to health even though economically crucial to some countries, ensuring intellectual property rights and patents are protected for pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines while it can be price prohibitive in certain regions and using the guise of vaccinations to infiltrate terrorist or other organizations which may reduce faith in these public health programs [6]. [...]crucial medications might be held back from folks who cannot afford these high-cost medicines, which usually are not covered by medical insurance in the developing world. [...]this ethical, legal, and financial quandary must take the GHP policy before formulating a final solution. If countries are reluctant to have the WHO or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) track these cases or point of origin in these countries, this could prevent a rational treatment and epidemiological study of these diseases. [...]diplomatic channels may have to work overtime to encourage countries to change their worldview and recognize that specific decisions can have disastrous consequences.