An International Service Corps for Health — An Unconventional Prescription for Diplomacy

At first glance, medicine may seem unrelated to foreign policy, but in reality it is an unappreciated partner of diplomacy. In many parts of the world, poverty, inequity based on ethnicity or sex, shoddy public infrastructure, and environmental degradation have resulted in poor health as well as political and social instability. Poor health, in turn, fuels social vulnerabilities and discord, as illness diminishes productivity and disrupts family and social structures. The United States, a major funder of global health initiatives, has an opportunity to change the way it helps to tackle these challenges by investing in local health systems, equitable . . .