National Defence College

Permanent URI for this collection

https://repository.ndu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/27

Browse

Browsing National Defence College by Author "Muthigani Beatrice W"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Role of Foreign Policy in Addressing National Health Security
    (NDU-K, 2023) Muthigani Beatrice W
    The advent of globalization has led to increased interconnectedness and interdependence globally, highlighting universality of the common issues that affect the international system. Human security discourse, particularly in the context of health security, is one such issues that has gained prominence, with global challenges like pandemics becoming integral to international diplomacy. As health matters continue to transcend the confines of medical field, the role of foreign policy has become more accentuated. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 underscored the importance of health security, revealing Kenya's inadequate and reactionary response, as well as deficiencies in the health systems that were exposed by WHO assessments and the Global Health Security Index. This study aimed to examine the mechanisms for cooperation between the health and foreign affairs sectors in Kenya in their implementation of foreign policy to achieve health security goals. The research found that Kenya's foreign policy does not explicitly incorporate a "health diplomacy" pillar, which hampers efficient implementation of health security objectives. However, international cooperation with foreign stakeholders has nevertheless yielded tangible health benefits, including disease control efforts and investment in the health sector, albeit in a silo-like adhoc manner. The study adopted a descriptive, qualitative research design, purposive non-probability sampling and a thematic narrative analysis of data. The study concluded that while interactions between the foreign affairs and health ministries are significant, there's a lack of clarity about the structure governing this collaboration. Health interests appear to be subsumed within the broader framework of foreign policy cooperation with other states and organizations. Given the growing importance of health as a strategic and security issue, the study suggests the inclusion of a "health diplomacy" pillar in foreign policy to ensure precise coordination of health security matters at all levels of cooperation.