Health and Diplomacy

In a more horizontal and integrated world, the international treatment of health issues is progressively enhancing due to the natural increase of its complexity and implications with other sectors, specially trade and politics, as well as to the repercussions of the increasingly growing interdependence among countries to the health field. A multidimensional approach is indispensable, where an effective interaction between actors of the global health is essential for the solution of challenges in this area. It is widely spread out and accepted, besides, that health represents today a basic component for development. This perception stretches out the field of interest in the sector, opening ways so that health establishes a more intense articulation with other sectors and, therefore, so that it can interact with foreign policies and international cooperation.

Traditionally the States have been the main stakeholders to hold the practice of the diplomacy as a mean of managing their international relations. Nevertheless, due to the impact of globalization in the public health, health problems present today challenges, preoccupations and actions that transcend the national frontiers, which can be influenced by different circumstances, and are better attended by cooperative processes. Therefore, a new model of diplomacy is necessary to deal with the dynamic scenery of international issues and of politics. This reciprocal influence among health issues, international relations and other sectors originate the necessity of an approach from a more wide and complete perspective. The appearance of transnational illnesses, bioterrorism, dislocation of geopolitical environments, as well as the connections among health, politics, trade, intellectual property and human rights introduce to the health stakeholders a complex matrix of technical challenges and to them related. Therefore, a joint effort among governments and several organizations is necessary to bring into effect and to guarantee global health.

The Health and Diplomacy Net

We can recently verify a growing development of technical cooperation, in all the areas, through the exchange of several kinds of information, documents, opinions and researches. Several countries, organizations and people have successful experiences and knowledge to solve difficulties in several sectors, which can be exchanged and used by others to improve their own systems. This potential of cooperation can be used internationally in the area of the health, helping people involved or interested in health international politics, health international cooperation and similar sectors.

In this background the Health and Diplomacy Cooperation Net is proposed, contributing to a better performance and articulation of the Ministries of Health, their International Advisory bodies, Government and Non-government Organizations, Academic Centers of excellence in International Health, ex-residents in International Health in the PAHO and other stakeholders interested in the subject, through the exchange of information, opinions and experiences in several areas of interest, producing a virtuous cycle to the cooperation, apprenticeship, development, strengthening and management of these stakeholders.

Net Objectives
- To favor the exchange of information and experiences to face the international challenges of health;
- To compile, to spread out and to facilitate the access to such information;
- To identify best practices and to learn from mistakes and correct choices;
- To facilitate the contacts and articulations among the net participants and other stakeholders interested in the subject;
- To stimulate the scientific production on international health issues;
- To identify common areas of work and research and facilitate their articulations and integrated actions;
- To elaborate joint analyses;
- To stimulate cooperation initiatives in international health;
- To stimulate the development of international health projects among countries;