Multi-level health governance and health diplomacy

Abstract

This introduction to the special section explores the nexus between global health governance and international health diplomacy. In these dynamic governance spaces, particular attention is paid to the multi-level and multi-actor character of global health governance and how health diplomacy functions in such a complex context. It is pointed out that the regional level plays both vertical (i.e., as an intermediary between the global and national levels) and horizontal (i.e., interregional) roles. The contributions to the special section develop the conceptual understanding of those interactions and analyze a number of concrete cases, including the African Union, ASEAN, the European Union, SADC, and UNASUR.

COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: the visible face of a regional health cooperation in crisis

“…Through consensual and collective actions, the countries promoted regional cooperation in health to deal with common problems, aiming to enhance its capacities in order to contribute to policy coordination. The experience of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) shows that some regional blocs can set up alternatives to unilateral and top-down transfer policies and, furthermore, that regional organizations have the potential to build new cooperative ties through health, to reduce asymmetries and to become actors in new forms of health diplomacy (Amaya & De Lombaerde 2019;Riggirozzi 2015). In this context, health has not only been the engine of regional integration in recent decades, but also one of the most active sectors of South-South Cooperation (SSC) (SEGIB 2017).…”

Health policy competencies in regional organizations: a retrospective analysis for 76 regional organizations from 1945 to 2015

“…While specific research on the impact of regional integration on regional health is lacking, member states of regional organizations have empowered some organizations to create health policies and initiate regional health governance [ 11 – 13 ]. These health governance actions, occurring at various levels including the treaty, political, technical and intersectoral modes, set them apart from global health governance [ 14 ].…”

Factors affecting the emergence of diplomacy in Iranian nurse managers: a qualitative study

“…Diplomacy has also been defined as the professional activity or skill of managing relations (Bolewski 2018). Diplomacy skills can be used in health systems at organizational, national and international levels (Amaya & De Lombaerde 2019). Nurse managers as important members of the healthcare team, manage large parts of the health system.…”

“…The role of diplomacy in health care also depends on political, social and cultural factors in each country (Amaya & De Lombaerde 2019). Owing to the fact that engagement of the nurse managers in diplomacy influences macro‐policymaking and relies on the underlying factors (Benton 2015), the current study aimed to explain the factors affecting the emergence of diplomacy in Iranian nurse managers through a qualitative study.…”

“…Recent attention to health diplomacy has led to several definitions, but most of these have focused on global health, health‐oriented negotiations, the presence of health actors and the mutual benefit of global health and foreign policy (Amaya & De Lombaerde 2019).…”