As part of ASPPH’s ongoing commitment to global partnerships, Dr. Laura Magaña, ASPPH President and CEO, recently represented the Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH)—in her capacity as GNAPH President—at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in India.

At the summit, GNAPH co-hosted a session titled “Public Health Diplomacy: An Emerging Competency Toward Consensus Building, Negotiations, and Multilateral Partnerships” in collaboration with Dr. Ashish Joshi, Dean of the University of Memphis School of Public Health.

ASPPH’s commitment to global action is rooted in the belief that addressing global health issues requires a unified effort. ASPPH is a founding member of and serves as the Secretariat for GNAPH, which is an alliance of seven regional associations that represent schools and programs of public health worldwide.

The Public Health Diplomacy session built on the foundation established at the University of Memphis Public Health Diplomacy Summit, which developed a working definition of public health diplomacy and a 9-point action plan to establish a global framework, launch capacity-building initiatives, and institutionalize public health diplomacy as a public health discipline.

Panelists included:

• Dr. Ashoo Grover, Indian Council of Medical Research
• Dr. Ilona Kickbusch, Geneva Graduate Institute
• Dr. Matthew Brown, University of California San Diego
• Ambassador Luís de Almeida Sampaio, University of Coimbra

Additionally, Dr. Magaña was honored to participate in the Public Health Foundation of India’s (PHFI) Foundation Day, creating new opportunities for exchange and collaboration with ASPPH members. We look forward to continuing our work with GNAPH and other international organizations.