She says that “medical diplomacy presents the United States with the chance to reaffirm its commitment to humanitarianism and reawaken the spirit that once spawned the Peace Corps and USAID.”
Wexler outlines some of the advantages of medical diplomacy:
- it can be applied both as a short-term or long-term strategy
- it can help both to prevent conflict and assist in post-conflict reconstruction
"Healthy populations are able to work, cultivate food, and earn wages—all of which contribute to economic productivity and a functioning society. Conversely, disease is often born in conditions of poverty, festering in unsanitary sewage systems, overcrowded living quarters, and dilapidated housing structures."
But what exactly is medical diplomacy? Former health and human services secretary and chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Tommy G. Thompson defines it in his 2005 Op-Ed for the Boston Globe:
Medical diplomacy is "the winning of hearts and minds of people in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere by exporting medical care, expertise, and personnel to help those who need it most."
Arguing that in the fight to end tyranny and the effort to spread democracy, Thompson states it is important that States such as the US apply all “weapons of freedom” to win. Medical diplomacy is one of those weapons.
Posts
After reading this post and Rebecca Waxler’s article in the “Diplomatic Courier,” I would have to agree with hers and Nina’s conclusion concerning medical diplomacy. Many Americans, including the current president, are concerned with the U.S.’s image abroad (the War in Iraq is one of the main reasons for Uncle Sam’s concern). Secretary Clinton is going to be facing this challenge—improving the U.S.’s international image—for quite some time. At the end of her post, Nina writes, “…it is important that States such as the US apply all ‘weapons of freedom’ to win. Medical diplomacy is one of those weapons.” In the past few years, the War in Iraq has overshadowed most attempts by the U.S. to show its humanitarian side. I know, as I think most Americans do, that the United States certainly cares about the welfare of the rest of the world (the United States is the largest provider of foreign aid in the world). However, the U.S.’s military involvement in the Middle East for the past several years have caused many in the global community to question the commitment of the United States to humanitarian aid. I think the best argument for medical diplomacy is made by Waxler when she says:
ReplyDelete“Healthy populations are able to work, cultivate food, and earn wages—all of which contribute to economic productivity and a functioning society. Conversely, disease is often born in conditions of poverty, festering in unsanitary sewage systems, overcrowded living quarters, and dilapidated housing structures.”
Even from a non-humanitarian and opportunist perspective, medical diplomacy is a valuable tool. It would make populations healthier and more able to work. This would allow businesses wanting to move production overseas in order to pay cheaper wages to hire more people (the workforce would increase because of an increase in medical support). Of course, I do not believe that this is the main reason why medical diplomacy should be employed, but I think it shows that medical diplomacy, and public diplomacy as a whole, serves more than one purpose.
This actually reminds me of an article I had been reading concerning Youssif, a burned Iraqi boy who was taken to the United States for medical treatment. I'm not sure how big his story is in the United States, but from our discussions on soft power, I certainly think US involvement in Youssif would have been a far better represenation of the United States than the work that was put into creating the Disney advertisement we watched in class.
ReplyDeletePut shortly, Youssif was playing outside when masked intruders burned him, permanently disfiguiring his face. After soldier and military involvement over there, Youssif and his entire family have been brought to the United States, where Youssif has been recieving free medical care. His profile stories on CNN and the Children's Burn Foundation website are updated every few months.
http://www.childburn.org/stories/youssif
Has anyone heard of this story? I'd be curious to know because I think even most US citizens are unaware.