Javed Sumbal, Chattu Vijay Kumar
School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Health Promot Perspect. 2020 Nov 7;10(4):300-305. doi: 10.34172/hpp.2020.48. eCollection 2020.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to claim lives around the world and, to some extent, reflects the failure of international cooperation. Global health diplomacy (GHD)can be a bridge for international cooperation for tackling public health crises, strengthening health systems through emphasizing universal health coverage for sustainable and equitable development, and rebuilding multilateral organizations. It can be a catalyst for future global health initiatives. Health should not be used as a political tool at the cost of people's lives, nor should it become a proxy for geopolitics but can be used to diffuse tensions and create a positive environment for political dialogue. Health diplomacy's focus should be to mitigate inequality by making available diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines as a global public good. The implications for the lack of international cooperation will lead to increased global disparities and inequities as the countries that cannot procure vaccines will find their population more vulnerable to the pandemic's repercussion. Though the international cooperation on trade has suffered the impact of geopolitical shifts and competition, through engaging in GHD, the governments can align the trade and health policies. Amid this global health crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has faced an increase in International Health Regulations violations, limiting its influence and response during this COVID-19 pandemic. Nations need to develop a sense of cooperation that serves as the basis for a mutual strategic trust for international development. The priorities of all the countries should be to find the areas of common interest, common operational overlap on development issues, and resource allocation for this global fight against COVID-19.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行仍在全球范围内夺走生命，在某种程度上反映了国际合作的失败。全球卫生外交（GHD）可以成为国际合作应对公共卫生危机的桥梁，通过强调全民健康覆盖以实现可持续和公平发展来加强卫生系统，并重建多边组织。它可以成为未来全球卫生倡议的催化剂。健康不应被用作以人民生命为代价的政治工具，也不应成为地缘政治的代理，而应被用于缓解紧张局势并为政治对话创造积极环境。卫生外交的重点应是通过将诊断、治疗方法和疫苗作为全球公共产品提供，来减少不平等现象。缺乏国际合作的影响将导致全球差距和不平等加剧，因为无法采购疫苗的国家将发现其人口更容易受到疫情影响。尽管贸易方面的国际合作受到地缘政治变化和竞争的影响，但通过参与全球卫生外交，各国政府可以使贸易政策与卫生政策保持一致。在这场全球卫生危机中，世界卫生组织（WHO）面临的国际卫生条例违规行为有所增加，这限制了其在此次COVID-19大流行期间的影响力和应对能力。各国需要培养合作意识，这是国际发展相互战略信任的基础。所有国家的首要任务应该是找到共同利益领域、在发展问题上的共同行动重叠点，以及为这场全球抗击COVID-19斗争进行资源分配。
