Media Release

Mangaluru, Dec 8: Appointing Health Attachés: Critical to global health diplomacy and national security, says Dr Edmond Fernandes in a new policy analysis published by the Atlantic Council. Dr Edmond Fernandes is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

A nation must be healthy before it can be stable and prosperous. Diplomacy alone is not enough, as the transboundary nature and planetary health spill over of diseases are being noted at every juncture. Institutions must integrate public health with diplomacy if risks to global public health, such as COVID-19, Ebola, MERS, SARS, and monkeypox, endure -and this is compounded by existential challenges such as natural disasters, climate change, biological, chemical, and radiological hazards, migration, refugee crises, and overall public health shortfalls.

Diplomacy needs a new algorithm and a new vision. Since the signing of the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations in 1961, the world has undergone radical transformation.

The proposed portfolio of a health attaché includes building relationships in a global setting and also advocating for policy matters in favour of the sending government. It could also include facilitating public health assistance, interfacing humanitarian assistance, knowledge sourcing, supporting research cooperation, linking professional networks, negotiating multilateral agreements, motivating import and export in terms of trade, and fostering scholarly exchanges.

Full brief available on: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/health-attaches-are-the-missing-link-in-global-diplomacy/