Journal of International Relations & Foreign Policy

U.S. Health Diplomacy in Afghanistan: A Development Tool in Health System Reconstruction of a Fragile and Conflict-Affected State
Dr. Jabali Wells

Abstract
Residing at the interface of global health and foreign policy, health diplomacy is a new archetype of diplomacy that involves the interaction of state and non-state actors. While there are a multitude of peer-reviewed articles that present health diplomacy as being driven by either global health or foreign policy intentions, there is a paucity of literature that illustrates an alignment of these objectives. Similarly, there is a dearth of articles that have analyzed how health diplomacy can play a part in progressing state-building and legitimacy in areas of conflict and instability. Afghanistan is a fragile and conflict-affected state whose health system was on the verge of collapse by the time U.S. reconstruction efforts commenced in 2002. This work examines how U.S. health diplomacy has not only sought to achieve the global health aim of improving quantity and quality of life in Afghanistan, but also accomplish the foreign policy goals of fortifying Afghan state institutions and processes, and assisting the Afghan government in fulfilling its social compact through the delivery of health.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jirfp.v5n1a2