Global Health Diplomacy Training Course

Participants can interpret major global health instruments and identify their implications for national action.

• WHO Constitution functions, governing bodies and decision-making procedures
• International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities and notification duties
• Pandemic Agreement provisions on prevention, access and pathogen benefit-sharing
• Framework Convention on Tobacco Control as treaty diplomacy precedent
• Vienna Convention privileges, immunities and official communication channels
• Reservations, interpretative declarations and national implementation constraints
• Reading treaty text: obligations, qualifiers, definitions and review clauses

Participants can prepare an evidence-based country position with clear interests, mandates and negotiating parameters.

• Problem definition using burden, equity, feasibility and political acceptability criteria
• Stakeholder maps distinguishing decision-makers, influencers, blockers and affected groups
• Interest-position analysis separating stated demands from underlying needs
• Evidence briefs using WHO data, peer-reviewed findings and local surveillance
• Country instructions aligned with mandates, fiscal limits and legal authority
• Red lines, trade-offs and acceptable landing zones documented
• Interministerial clearance routes for health, foreign affairs, finance and trade

Participants can plan and conduct negotiations using structured bargaining, coalition and text-drafting methods.

• BATNA, reservation value and ZOPA calculated before multilateral negotiation
• Distributive and integrative bargaining choices under resource allocation disputes
• Agenda control, sequencing and package deals in committee negotiations
• Coalition-building through caucuses, regional groups and issue-based alliances
• Drafting compromise language with brackets, qualifiers and constructive ambiguity
• Responding to pressure tactics without damaging long-term working relationships
• Consensus, voting and procedural motions used to move stalled text

Participants can apply protocol requirements to formal health diplomacy events, correspondence and official visits.

• Vienna Convention rules governing diplomatic status, privileges and immunities
• Precedence, seating plans and flag protocol for ministerial health events
• Credentials, letters of introduction and delegation accreditation procedures
• Note verbale structure, diplomatic correspondence and formal forms of address
• Official visits planned through host government, mission and protocol offices
• Cultural intelligence applied to greetings, meetings, hospitality and gift practices
• Protocol risk checks for sensitive representation and public-facing events

Participants can support diplomatic coordination during health emergencies while balancing urgency, law and trust.

• Public health emergency declarations, notification thresholds and WHO coordination
• Risk communication principles for uncertain evidence and cross-border concern
• Travel measures assessed against IHR necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination
• Humanitarian access negotiations involving health supplies, personnel and corridors
• Cross-border data-sharing arrangements protecting confidentiality, trust and operational speed
• Vaccine, diagnostics and countermeasure allocation framed through equity principles
• Joint statements balancing urgency, national concerns and scientific uncertainty

Participants can address financing, access and partnership issues in global health policy discussions.

• Global health financing architecture: assessed contributions, grants, loans and pooled funds
• Donor conditionality assessed against country ownership and health system priorities
• Technology transfer, intellectual property and voluntary licensing negotiation issues
• TRIPS flexibilities considered for medicines, vaccines and diagnostic access
• Procurement diplomacy addressing supply assurances, allocation and delivery schedules
• Resource mobilisation narratives linking investment cases to measurable health outcomes
• Conflict-of-interest safeguards for industry partnerships and philanthropic funding

Participants can prepare, represent and follow up effectively during formal multilateral health meetings.

• WHO Executive Board and World Health Assembly negotiation pathways
• Regional group coordination, caucus discipline and speaking-order strategy
• Interventions structured with national position, evidence, ask and proposed text
• Informal consultations used to test language and identify workable concessions
• Committee procedure: points of order, amendments and recorded votes
• Delegate roles, rapporteur duties and chair engagement during formal sessions
• Post-meeting reporting connecting commitments, owners, deadlines and follow-up

Participants can communicate health positions clearly to diplomatic, technical, political and public audiences.

• Audience segmentation for ministers, donors, technical agencies and civil society
• Message maps linking health evidence, national interests and diplomatic asks
• Policy briefs structured with recommendation, rationale, evidence and implementation implications
• Media engagement protocols during sensitive negotiations and public health emergencies
• Countering misinformation without amplifying false claims or disclosing protected information
• Spokesperson preparation using bridging, flagging and disciplined key messages
• Digital diplomacy practices for official channels, online meetings and records

Participants can apply ethical safeguards and create an action plan for future health diplomacy responsibilities.

• Human rights obligations applied to equity, participation and non-discrimination decisions
• Ethical reasoning for scarce-resource allocation and cross-border assistance requests
• Conflict-of-interest declarations, recusal decisions and transparency records
• Safeguarding community voices in negotiations affecting vulnerable populations
• After-action reviews capturing diplomatic outcomes, process lessons and unresolved issues
• Personal application plan with priority relationships, milestones and accountability measures
• Performance indicators tracking commitments, influence, implementation and partner confidence

Professional exposure to health policy, public health, international development, foreign affairs or related work is expected. You do not need prior treaty negotiation, diplomatic posting or protocol experience.

Bring a current or anticipated international health issue from your role, such as a meeting agenda, donor discussion, outbreak coordination matter or policy priority. Publicly available background documents are useful, but not required.

The course is designed for officials and professionals who represent, advise or coordinate organisations in international health discussions. It is especially relevant for participants working between health, foreign affairs, development, finance and humanitarian functions.

Public health courses usually focus on epidemiology, programmes and health systems, while international relations courses often focus on broader statecraft. This course concentrates on the practical intersection: negotiating health interests, applying protocol, drafting positions and working through multilateral processes.

Participants can use the country-position template, stakeholder map, negotiation worksheet and protocol checklist for upcoming meetings. The methods also support interministerial coordination, donor discussions, emergency communication and agreement follow-up.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours, for approximately 32.5 hours in total. Time is divided among instructor briefings, case analysis, group work, simulations, feedback and application planning across ten sequential modules.