Global Health Diplomacy: Insights from Afghanistan and the South Asian Region
Keywords: Global Health Diplomacy, Health Systems, Health Policy, SAARK
Sadruddin Faizi
Abstract
Historically, Europe had treaties, which today are considered under the laws of global health diplomacy. Global Health Diplomacy (GHD) has grown to become a key component of contemporary international relations, connecting health with foreign policy, security, and development. As acknowledged in the Oslo Declaration (2007) and later UN resolutions, global health diplomacy directly helps intersectoral agencies in emergency crises around the world. As outbreaks like SARS, Ebola, and COVID-19 demonstrated, no state can handle global health threats in isolation, making diplomacy an essential tool. GHD shows how much it helps Afghanistan from a health aspect as a country in a fragile state that has experienced of war for several decades. The war has destroyed all the health infrastructures, resulting in high rates of maternal and infant mortality as well as a general lack of access to necessary care. Since 2002, Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health has worked with foreign donors, especially USAID, WHO, and the World Bank, to implement the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS). Although the program could restore the health infrastructure a lot and decrease the rate of deaths, sustainability is still constrained by political instability and reliance on donors’ assistance. South Asia is the home of 25% of the world’s population, faces a number of regional challenges and problems, including health disparities, climate change, and communicable and non-communicable diseases. Between India and Pakistan, the shared borders, migration, and geopolitical rivalries all have an impact on health diplomacy. While SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) provide frameworks for collaboration, development is hampered by poor institutions and political instability. However, initiatives like Vaccine Maitri, cross-border polio campaigns, and disease surveillance networks show how GHD can promote stability and health security. This study examines the development and use of GHD in Afghanistan and South Asia, making the case that health diplomacy is a strategic tool for peace and resilience as well as a humanitarian necessity in fragile environments.
