Public Health Diplomacy

Public Health Diplomacy Session at World Health Summit Regional Meeting in New Delhi

April 25-27, 2025

New Delhi, India

In April 2025, GNAPH hosted a session at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in New Delhi. GNAPH is a member of the World Health Summit Academic Alliance, which is focused on global health improvement and development of science-based solutions to global health challenges. During the summit, GNAPH co-hosted a session on “Public Health Diplomacy: An emerging public health competency towards consensus building, negotiations and multi-lateral partnerships,” along with the University of Memphis School of Public Health. The session explored the critical role of public health diplomacy and highlighted the importance of equipping public health students with the competencies needed to navigate this evolving field effectively.

The session built on the foundation established at the University of Memphis Public Health Diplomacy Summit, which developed a working definition of public health diplomacy and a 9-point action plan to establish a global framework, launch capacity-building initiatives, and institutionalize public health diplomacy as a public health discipline. Dr. Laura Magaña, president of GNAPH, served as chair for the session, which was moderated by Dean Ashish Joshi (University of Memphis School of Public Health). Panelists included:

Dr. Ashoo Grover, Indian Council of Medical Research
Dr. Ilona Kickbusch, Geneva Graduate Institute
Dr. Matthew Brown, University of California San Diego
Ambassador Luís de Almeida Sampaio, University of Coimbra

GNAPH thanks the panelists and session participants for an amazing exciting session and lively discussion.

Public Health Diplomacy Summit

A global collaboration to convene and innovate

September 25-27, 2024

University of Memphis School of Public Health in Collaboration with ASPPH and GNAPH

In September 2024, the University of Memphis School of Public Health hosted a three-day, interactive summit on public health diplomacy. GNAPH and ASPPH were proud to collaborate on the event, which had close to 30 contributors, including GNAPH President Laura Magaña of ASPPH, treasurer Dr. Rajendra Surenthirakumaran of SEAPHEIN, and GNAPH members Drs. Wah Yun Low and So Yoon Kim (APACPH). The agenda included reflections from around the globe and an engaging Q&A panel on next steps to collaborate effective public health diplomacy as well as numerous workshop sessions with discussion topics including the intersection of health and diplomacy, the competencies required to train public health professionals as diplomats, resources for public health students to navigate the complexities of diplomacy amidst a rapidly changing world, and building effective regional collaborations for health diplomacy education.

The School of Public Health at the University of Memphis is launching a Public Health Diplomacy Lab – the first of its kind in the country. By convening numerous vested partners, including governmental organizations and NGOs, international organizations, members of the civic society, and academic and research institutions, the Public Health Diplomacy Lab will aim to improve collaboration, advance health equity, and enhance population health and well-being from local to global.