Global Health and Foreign Policy

Feldbaum, Harley; Lee, Kelley; Michaud, Joshua

Not all diplomacy on health seeks to achieve global health goals, and states are increasingly using health interventions to support ulterior foreign-policy objectives in efforts often termed ''health diplomacy.'' One prominent example is the hospital ship tours of the US Naval Ships Mercy and Comfort, in which these US military assets deliver health, disaster, and humanitarian assistance to underserved countries. These missions work to improve health but are also driven by training needs and the intent to ''win hearts and minds through the use of health interventions'' (101, p. 3) . Broader US investments in global health are also justified by foreign-policy interests; as a former US Senator stated, ''You do not go to war with someone who has saved the life of your child'' (42, p. 219). The United States is not alone in using health interventions to serve foreign-policy objectives; the Cuban health diplomacy program (102) and Chinese health cooperation in Africa (103) are other relevant examples. Other related attempts that utilize health as diplomatic outreach have been termed vaccine (104), science (105, 106) , and disaster (107, 108) diplomacy. Such efforts have not been without criticism. Ingram observes that such efforts may ultimately be ''self-defeating,'' as ''it is precisely the fact that health professionals are not associated with the policies of states that gives them wider credibility'' (109, p. 534) .