Abstract

In 2007, the foreign ministers of seven countries (Norway, France, Brazil, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa, and Thailand) issued a declaration identifying global health as ‘a pressing foreign policy issue of our time’, one that is:

… deeply interconnected with the environment, trade, economic growth, social development, national security, human rights and dignity. In a globalised and interdependent world, the state of global health has a profound impact on all nations – developed and developing. Ensuring public health on a global scale is of benefit to all countries.

(Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, France, Indonesia, Norway, Senegal, South Africa, and Thailand 2007: 1,373) Other governments followed suit, with Switzerland releasing its health foreign policy document in 2006 and the UK launching its global health strategy two years later.