Health imperatives in foreign policy: the case of Malaysia.
Malaysia's global, regional and bilateral international health relations are surveyed against the historical backdrop of the country's foreign policy. Malaysia has always participated in multilateral agencies, most notably the World Health Organization, as such agencies are part of the longstanding fabric of "good international citizenship". The threats of infectious diseases to human health and economic activity have caused an intensification and an organizational formalization of Malaysian health diplomacy, both regionally and bilaterally. Such diplomacy has also established a basis for developing a wider set of cooperative relationships that go beyond responding to the threat of pandemics. As Malaysia approaches "developed" status, its health sector is becoming increasingly integrated into the global economy through joint research and development ventures and transnational investment. At the same time, it will have the technological, financial and human resources to play an expanded altruistic role in global and regional health.
Barraclough
Simon
S
School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. s.barraclough@latrobe.edu.au
Phua
Kai-Lit
KL
D000533:Altruism; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D014943:Global Health; D006291:Health Policy; D006304:Health Status; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008296:Malaysia; D015980:Public Health Practice; D011640:Public Policy; D014944:World Health Organization / Q000458:organization & administration