PUBLIC HEALTH DIPLOMACY IN A COMPLEX WORLD

Global health issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, misinformation,
conflicts, and humanitarian emergencies create complex health, economic, and
geopolitical challenges. Addressing these crises requires integrating public health into
all policy areas and more equitable international cooperation. Lessons from the
pandemic stress the importance of combining formal diplomacy (e.g., health attachés
and diplomats) with informal diplomacy, involving non-state actors like Non-
Governmental Organizations and private enterprises.
Strengthening Public Health Diplomacy requires multidisciplinary approaches and
cross-sector training to prepare public health professionals to navigate the sociopolitical
and cultural complexities of global health. We need more practitioners as public health
diplomats who can effectively communicate, facilitate, negotiate and build
consensus using systems thinking, evidence based, community-informed approaches,
based on equity-focused and human-centered values to improve health and well-being
for all.
This joint IJPH and PHR special Issue aims to advance the field of Public Health
Diplomacy by calling for interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research from across the
globe. For PHR, we invite high-quality Reviews (all types) and Policy Briefs. For IJPH,
we invite Original Articles. We particularly encourage contributions in the area of Public
Health Diplomacy that:
- Examine the importance of systems thinking, consensus building, and
negotiation
- Analyze community and policy level human-centered innovations, interventions
and programs
- Describe health diplomatic efforts, collaborations and partnerships to coordinate
health diplomatic activities, or the impact of public health diplomacy across
different regions of the world.
- Examine the role of trust, communication and the infodemic, and their role in
amplifying credible content
- Address the intersectionality between public health, foreign affairs and
international relations in global settings and their impact on public health policy
making.
- Identify the competencies essential to becoming a health diplomat
- Present best practical, methodological, or conceptual practices in health
diplomacy research
- Discuss how data governance, ethical considerations and regulations can play a
pivotal role in Reconstruction, Recovery, and Sustainability in Post-Crisis Settings

IJPH and PHR double-blind peer-review and author guidelines apply. Submitted
manuscripts and abstracts must fully comply with the IJPH/PHR rules for article type,
length and format (please consult the information for authors on the IJPH or PHR
website).
You may submit an abstract in the first instance. In case of acceptance after peer
review, articles will be published in the online special issue approximately 3 weeks after
acceptance.

Keywords: Public health, Health Diplomacy, Multi-stakeholder, Capacity Building, Global Health Governance , Foreign Policy, Global Health.

Contact:
PHR Editorial Office: phr@swisstph.ch
IJPH Editorial Office: ijph@swisstph.ch

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Hints and Kinks
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Article
• Policy Brief
• Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Hints and Kinks
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Article
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Society Statement
• Systematic Review
• Theory & Concept
• Young Researcher Editorial

Keywords: Public health, Multi-stakeholder, Capacity building, Global Health Governance, Foreign Policy, Global Health, Health Diplomacy