Digital Health Diplomacy" in Global Digital Health? A call for critique and discourse

Actualizing the vision of Global Digital Health is a central issue on the Global Health Diplomacy agenda. The COVID-reinforced need for accelerated digital health progress will require political structures and processes to build a foundation for Global Digital Health. Simultaneously, Global Health Diplomacy uses digital technologies in its enactment. Both phenomena have driven interest in the term “Digital Health Diplomacy.” A review of the literature revealed 2 emerging but distinct definitions that have been published very recently, each with its asso- ciated discourse and practice. This multiplicity of ideas demonstrates the myriad ways in which global digital and political systems are becoming increasingly entangled. Untangling these, this paper proposes and dis- cusses 3 dimensions of Digital Health Diplomacy: “Diplomacy for digital health,” “Digital health for diplomacy,” and “Digital health in diplomacy.” It calls upon digital health professionals, diplomats, political and social scien- tists, epidemiologists, and clinicians to discuss, critique, and advance this emerging domain.