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Global notes: the interactions of health and foreign policies

Journal of Perinatology volume 30, pages 643–644 (2010)Cite this article

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Foreign policy is used to maintain national security and the economic interest of the country. In contrast, health policies of a country are designed primarily to maintain the health of their people. With increasing globalization and interdependence of nations, both big and small, these two policies are converging to achieve national and international economic stability and national security. To those of us involved in global health care, this transition of thought in the mind of foreign policy makers is welcome. An interesting new trend in the foreign policy under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the inclusion of health care into foreign policy. In this review, we will discuss the importance of adopting health as a foreign policy both for the countries involved and for the public at large.

It is well known that international health policies are used in many countries as important safeguards for the health of their people. An example is requirement for vaccination against certain infectious diseases for foreign travel. These health policies are meant to be self-protective. New policies can be directed to helping people all over the world by incorporating health priorities into global policies. Health as a priority in foreign policy is a relatively new concept that is gaining greater attention of policy makers of many countries. Around the world, policy makers have been urging governments to consider health as an important component of foreign policy.1, 2 The idea of implementing this is that it will not only help the needy populations of the world but also help achieve the geopolitical goals of democratization, because healthy people can sustain healthy economics and thereby maintain a stable government. Secretary of State Clinton has become a strong advocate of inclusion of global health in her agenda for foreign policy. In May 2009 she said, ‘The President's new global health initiative will be a crucial component of American foreign policy and a signature element of smart power.’ She further added: ‘Our investment in programs to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, and other preventable diseases save millions of lives, reduce maternal and child mortality and reflect our nation's leadership as a positive force for progress around the world.’3

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    D Vidyasagar

  2. Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    D Vidyasagar

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  1. D Vidyasagar
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Correspondence to D Vidyasagar.

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Vidyasagar, D. Global notes: the interactions of health and foreign policies. J Perinatol 30, 643–644 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2010.87

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