GLOSSARY

Global health diplomacy is a burgeoning field that combines the priorities of global health with those of foreign affairs. Health challenges of various kinds have acquired an urgency that is unprec- edented in the long history of international health activities. Developments in the field of health are affecting the way in which normative concepts and international legal rules are applied in diplo- matic negotiations. Global health diplomacy involves a number of disciplines, ranging from public health, law and international affairs to management and economics. Understanding and using concepts from different disciplines consistently is therefore essential.

The ABC of Diplomacy is a glossary of alphabetically ordered keywords produced by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. It explains frequently used terms, and provides information about the laws and customs governing international relations:

https://www.eda.admin.ch/dam/eda/en/documents/publications/GlossarezurAussenpolitik/

ABC-Diplomatie_en.pdf

The institutional repository of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies contains two resources that explain commonly used concepts:

Æ A glossary of terms used in global health negotiation: a working tool (2013), by Martin Jacques, Ilona Kickbusch and Michaela Told

https://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/296833?ln=en

Æ Discussing a definition of global health (2013) by Samantha Battams and Stephen A. Matlin https://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/288069?ln=en

A few years ago, the online portal Middle East Medical published an article outlining a former American ambassador’s views on global health diplomacy, from which it is worth quoting the fol- lowing excerpts:

Scientists and diplomats approach problems differently. Scientists see a problem, a pattern or an anomaly, do research to collect data and evidence, and, if the evidence is strong enough, publish the results – the solution to the problem — in a peer-reviewed journal.

For diplomats, who don’t read peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals in the first place, even an elegant proof is merely the beginning of a solution. Diplomats, if we are good at our jobs, put our priorities onto other people’s agendas. This means making a judgment about whether the problem the scientist’s research has set out to solve is genuinely a priority for our own program or for the policy maker we are trying to influence.

It also implies understanding the context in which the policy-maker is operating and how to present or explain our health priority so that it fits into his or her wider agenda.²⁷

Below we present a compilation of key terms, based on the glossary prepared for the participants in an online course on global health diplomacy organized by the Global Health Centre at the Grad- uate Institute of International and Development Studies:

Civil society: Refers to the process through which individuals negotiate, argue, struggle against or agree with one another and with the centres of political and economic authority, and through which voluntary associations, movements, parties, unions and individuals are able to act publicly.

The precise scope of the term varies but most common usage excludes private sector businesses and formal local government organizations. (Kickbusch et al., 2013)

Club-type health diplomacy: Refers to diplomatic relations and negotiations among a group of leaders who know one another well and can employ personal charm and persuasion.

COVID-19 diplomacy / pandemic diplomacy: Multi-stakeholder and multilevel negotiations to end the COVID-19 pandemic more quickly by shaping and managing the global policy environment at many venues.

Crisis diplomacy: Interactions between States (and other actors) under a heightened threat of systemic change.

27 Kolker J, Abdelghany A (2018). The role of diplomacy in global health. In: Middle East Medical [website] (https://www.

middleeastmedicalportal.com/the-role-of-diplomacy-in-global-health/, accessed 11 February 2020).

Determinants of health: Determinants of health refer to the social, economic and physical environ- ment and to individual characteristics and behaviours, all of which can affect people’s well being and health. Whether people are healthy or not is determined largely by their circumstances and environment. Access to health care and the quality of the services provided are also considered to be determinants of health. Trends in recent years warrant a distinction to be made between com- mercial and political determinants. Commercial determinants include “strategies and approaches used by the private sector to promote products and choices that are detrimental to health” (Kick- busch, Allen & Franz, 2016). Looking at health through the lens of political determinants means analysing how different power constellations, institutions, processes, interests and ideological po- sitions affect health within different political systems and cultures and at different levels of gover- nance. In addition, other health determinants are dependent on political action (Kickbusch, 2015).

Digital health diplomacy / Twitter health diplomacy: The use of the Internet and new information and communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives. (However, other definitions have also been proposed.) The above definition focuses on the interplay between Internet and di- plomacy, ranging from Internet-driven changes in the environment in which diplomacy is conduct- ed to the emergence of new topics on diplomatic agendas such as cybersecurity and privacy, along with the use of Internet tools to practise diplomacy. Digital diplomacy is part of public diplomacy; it is still mostly centred on the use of social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, but it is also about creating engaging online content that stimulates people to partici- pate in complex conversations about foreign policy, the role of governments and the common good.

Global governance for health: Global institutions and processes of governance that have a direct and indirect impact on global health. It also includes other institutions associated with global health that may not necessarily have health as part of their explicit agendas: for example, organi- zations working in the areas of climate change, intellectual property rights, trade and education.

Global health: Health issues that transcend national boundaries and call for action on the global factors that determine the health of people (Kickbusch, 2006).

Global health diplomacy: The multilevel and multi-stakeholder negotiation processes that shape and manage the global policy environment for health in both health and non-health forums. Such diplomacy deals in particular with health issues and determinants that cross national boundaries and need to be tackled through global agreements. It brings together the disciplines of public health, international affairs, management, law and economics (Kickbusch et al., 2007).

Global health governance: The conscious creation, shaping, steering, strengthening and use of international and transnational institutions and regimes (of principles, norms, rules and deci-

sion-making procedures) to organize the promotion and protection of health on a global scale. Such governance is about institutions focused on global health, including conventional structures in- volved in such work at the multilateral and bilateral level, and also innovative bodies, such as public–private partnerships with representatives from different stakeholders.

Global health security: Reducing collective vulnerability to global public health threats, both imme- diate and gradual. These threats transcend borders and may be caused by infectious agents that emerge naturally at the human–animal interface, but they may also be caused by chemicals, toxins and radiation, or be deliberately caused by acts of terrorism. At the individual level, health security must include protection and provision measures such as access to safe and effective medicines, vaccines and medical care. Increasing personal health security thus means providing individuals with more sustained – and therefore secure – access to quality medical goods and services.

Global public goods of health: In an increasingly interconnected world, many public goods (that is, goods which generate benefits shared by all and from which no one can be excluded) can no longer be defined in exclusively national terms. Global public goods generate benefits – such as a safer world, protection against the impacts of climate change, and improved health – that are vital to the well-being of those living now and to the survival of future generations. Examples of global public goods for health include shared scientific knowledge (such as the sequencing of the human ge- nome), the eradication of smallpox, global surveillance systems for influenza and other diseases, the WHO International Health Regulations and support for the development of new vaccines.

Governance for global health: The institutions and mechanisms established at the national and regional level to contribute to global health governance and/or to governance for global health, such as national or regional strategies on global health. It may also cover governance at the level of local communities.

Humanitarian diplomacy: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies de- fines humanitarian diplomacy as “persuading decision-makers and opinion leaders to act, at all times, in the interests of vulnerable people, and with full respect for fundamental humanitarian principles”.

Instruments of global health: International law, treaties, agreements, conventions, protocols, dec- larations, strategies, action plans and codes that concern global health.

Multilateralism in global health diplomacy: “Multilateralism” is the term used to describe cooper- ation among States: multilateralism in global health diplomacy is an approach based on the prem- ise that, by working together, countries can find solutions to global health problems without re- nouncing their sovereignty.

Private sector: The private sector is the part of the economy that is owned by private groups, usu- ally as a means of enterprise for profit, rather than being owned by the State.

Science diplomacy: The use of scientific collaboration among nations to address the common problems facing humanity and to build constructive international partnerships. It is both a compo- nent of health and environmental diplomacy and a field in its own right.

Vaccine diplomacy: All aspects of global health diplomacy that relate to the development, manu- facture and delivery of vaccines as public health goods. Among the key features of vaccine diplo- macy are its potential as a humanitarian intervention and its proven role in helping to mediate the cessation of hostilities and ceasefires during vaccination campaigns.

Whole-of -government / whole-of-society approach: These approaches call for collaboration, plan- ning and dialogue across the entire government and society. They involve working together on pub- lic health issues with non-traditional partners, including NGOs, the private sector and civil society.

Publications on global health issued by or in collaboration with the Graduate Institute

Abbott FM (2011). Intellectual property and public health: meeting the challenge of sustainability.

Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/12336, accessed 14 September 2020).

Alcázar S (2008a). The Copernican shift in global health. Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://

repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/4070, accessed 14 September 2020).

Alcázar S (2008b). The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: a case study in foreign policy and health: a view from Brazil. Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstii- tute.ch/record/4068, accessed 14 September 2020).

Battams S, Matlin SA (2013). Discussing a definition of global health. Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/288069, accessed 14 September 2020).

Cassels A, Kickbusch I, Told M, Ghinga I (2014). How should the WHO reform?: an analysis and review of the literature. Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/

record/292197, accessed 14 September 2020).

Claxton A, Rusagara V, Oloo B (2010). Negotiating health in a fragile state: a civil society perspective: a case study of the Global Fund TB project in Somalia. Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/4074, accessed 14 September 2020).

Global Health Centre (2016). Getting the most out of polio eradication: 10 actions for Europe.

Geneva: Graduate Institute (http://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/296845, accessed 14 September 2020).