School of Public Health

Frontiers Publication: Advancing regional and international cooperation in public health diplomacy

Thursday, 03 September 2026

Dean Ashish Joshi from the University of Memphis School of Public Health co-authored a recent publication summarizing the key discussions, lessons learned, and recommendations from the Public Health Diplomacy 2nd Summit. The findings suggest that public health diplomacy should be recognized as both a strategic and operational tool for strengthening global health governance, promoting international cooperation, and preparing future public health leaders. 
 
The 2026 summit was held from March 23–25 at the University of Memphis and brought together a diverse group of stakeholders in person, including academicians, public health professionals, diplomats, civil society representatives, and partner organizations.  
 
Participants represented 16 countries, 7 regions, and 11 public health organizations ensuring a global and interdisciplinary perspective on public health diplomacy.

For any questions related to this publication, feel free to reach out to Dean Ashish Joshi at ashish.joshi@memphis.edu

Collaborators

• Ashraf El-Metwally – King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
• Luis de Almeida Sampaio – Coimbra Health School, Coimbra, Portugal 
• Antonio Sarría-Santamera – School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan 
• Erica Kastrup – Center for International Relations in Health (CRIS), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
• Ramune Kalediene – Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania 
• Josep Figueras  – European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London, United Kingdom 
• Robert Otok – Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), Brussels, Belgium 
• Woldekidan Amde – School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa 
• Rajendra Surenthirakumaran – Department of Community and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka 
• Rodrigo Siqueira Reis – Bursky School of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA 
• William Yotive – World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), New York, NY, USA 
• Matthew D. Brown – School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, NJ, USA 
• Brian McGoldrick – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Niharika Jha – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Kun-Hsien Tsai – Department of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taiwan 
• Xinhua Yu – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, USA 
• Marian Levy – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Maryam Karimi – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Paul Barach –  Jefferson College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA 
• Gretchen Peterson – Department of Sociology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Diana Ruggiero – Department of World Languages and Literatures, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Dorothy Biberman – Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), Washington, DC, USA 
• Tiruneh Baye – Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
• Beverly Tsacoyianis – Department of History, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Shawna Novak – Canada International Scientific Exchange Program (CISEPO), Toronto, ON, Canada 
• Kamiar Alaei – Department of Health Science, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA 
• Ntuli A. Kapologwe – Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 
• John Middleton – Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH), Washington, DC, USA 
• Henrique Barros – Department of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 
• Margaret Kaseje – Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa (ASPHA), Kenya 
• Olagoke Akintola – School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa 
• Wah Yun Low – Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universitiy Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
• Michael Arthur Ofori – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Sharon Denise Griffin – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Nishtha Sharma – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Savannah Candace Kilgore – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Kami Geron – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 
• Lucia Linares – Young Forum Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, Austria 
• Shaun Palmer – Young Forum Gastein, Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Olha-Mariia Alimenko – Young Forum Gastein, Kyiv City, Ukraine 
• Diana Maddah – UK-Med, Doha, Qatar 
• Laura Magaña – Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), Washington, DC, USA 
• Ashish Joshi – School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 

Link: Advancing regional and international cooperation in public health diplomacy: summary of the methods and outcomes of the 2nd University of Memphis School of Public Health Diplomacy Summit (2026)