The role of journalism in global healthdiplomacy
By Priti Patnaik
Geneva Health Files, September 2023
Do journalists have a role to play in global health diplomacy?
I was a part of a recent discussion in Geneva on a panel that delved into
global health diplomacy with insights from diplomats and practitioners. Thisset me thinking on examining the responsibilities and the function of themedia in global health diplomacy.
As journalists we are expected to illuminate the less-understood mechanics ofpower. This also holds true in the context of greater scrutiny of global healthpolicy-making, given the closed and cloistered settings of the global healthecosystem in Geneva.
The pandemic of COVID-19 has cast a somewhat harsh light on Geneva andthe processes associated with global health actors including but not limited
to, the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organization, Gavi –The Vaccine Alliance and The Global Fund, among many others. I believe
this attention to global health policy-making - in many ways long-due - is
now here to stay.
The ubiquitous health crisis that COVID-19 was, became an inflection point
for global health diplomacy forging collective action at political levels acrosscountries to pay more attention to health priorities within governments.
Accordingly, journalism has become a catalyst in contributing to some ofthese processes. World over, journalists have asked questions of theirgovernments around the lack of preparedness and the perceived failure ofstate response to COVID-19 in many countries. They have consistently
pushed for accountability from various actors at national, regional andinternational levels, and often at grave personal costs.

More than ever before, technology coupled with greater awareness andagency, have empowered the media to play a more pronounced role in theshaping of global health policy-making by raising questions around thetechnical and opaque discussions in these multi-layered processes.

WHY DIPLOMACY NEEDS JOURNALISM?
Given the uneven capacities of delegations at the permanents missions ofcountries here in Geneva, there has been a need for greater information andanalyses on policy-making that takes place here.
I founded Geneva Health Files, in early 2020, just as WHO declared COVID19 a pandemic. I had long felt the need for consistent reporting andcomprehensive analysis of global health discussions in Geneva. I wascompelled to act. I did so, by self-publishing at a time when it appeared as if
global health was being recast every other week.
Based on my limited experience of founding and running this entrepreneurial
initiative for more than three years now, I believe that journalism has a
crucial role to play in shining light on the field of global health, its actors,
and the state of play on how global health policies are crafted at aninternational level. Journalism can and should have an impact on diplomacy
in Geneva and beyond.
We have tracked how the international community responded to thepandemic of COVID-19. We have consistently kept an ear to the ground, by
talking to a range of diplomatic sources across the spectrum to get a sense of
the deliberations as they unfold. In the process, we have provided a service tonot only diplomats and negotiators in Geneva, but thousands of readers
globally, who are keenly watching how global health policy is being shaped
here.
Global health journalism largely speaks the language of science. We sought
to change that by also reflecting the power and politics underlying these
seemingly technical choices in global health that are often presented asapolitical. In our reporting, it has been our efforts to also pay attention to thepolitics in policy-making.

At Geneva Health Files, we look at the field of global health from the lens ofpolitics, law, governance and diplomacy, without limiting ourselves to thefundamental scientific basis of this discipline. In fact, our unique selling
proposition is using an inter-disciplinary approach to reporting on global
health and providing actionable information to our readers. We try to capture
the vast space that global health as a field occupies, for it touches several
aspects at once.
For three years, we have tracked negotiations at the WTO and now at theWHO in the wake of the policy response to the pandemic of COVID-19 fromthese organizations. By merely bringing to the forefront some of theseclosed-door discussions, we have raised and highlighted critical questions.
Our reportage has not only aided smaller delegations, civil society actors,
scholars in the field, but also large delegations of developed countries, someof whom are our regular readers. Since we connect the dots across policy
spheres, our reporting has been useful to diplomats.
There is value in our journalism that seeks to furnish actionable informationthat directly feeds into the work of the diplomatic community engaged in
global health in Geneva and beyond. This is demonstrated by the engagementof our readership that comprises a community of global health professionals.
We at Geneva Health Files are proud to have created this platform. Experts
routinely write for us in order to reach thousands of our readers across morethan 130 countries.
The larger goal has always been to contribute to greater accountability andtransparency in global health policy-making in Geneva, often perceived as
being far removed from national and local realities at the country level.

Image Credit: Image credit: Photo by lil artsy, Pexels

PRACTICING JOURNALISM IN A POLITICAL PROCESS
I have also been asked if we exercise power by elevating certain voices overthe rest.
There are two considerations in how we source and cite.
One is respecting expertise in the sources we cite. Remember that journalism
as a practice entails discretion and responsibility. In a climate where experts
have been shunned in populist democracies, this is vital. I am firmly of theview that we exercise discretion and deploy our own agency in bringing facts
and analyses on under-reported issues.
The other is, paying attention to the diversity in the narrative and who is
being cited. We are acutely aware, of what some scholars refer to as“epistemic injustice”, where certain voices routinely get ignored or are
underrepresented leading to exclusion and misrepresentation of meanings.
We seek to address this in our journalism.
We continuously exercise judgement in our reporting. For example, while
reporting on the various stages of on-going negotiations in global health, wealso keep in mind our responsibility as journalists. While the goal is toprovide information, we do so without harming the larger objective of whatcountries are trying to do behind-the-scenes during the political process that
global health policy-making is. This is often a complex choice that involves
some thinking and taking a step back, without betraying our readers’ right toknow.
To be sure, as a self-publisher, we are also aware of the risks of being at thereceiving end. Our access has been threatened in the past. And we aremindful of the battles we pick even as we have to provide a service that feeds
directly into the work of our readers.
Our gaze as an outsider, providing synthesis of what we observe has been
useful to our readers. We are constantly challenging mainstream narratives,
so while that makes us unpopular in certain quarters perhaps, a vast variety ofreaders continue to read us as illustrated by our high retention rates.

Given the sensitive nature of global health diplomacy, at Geneva Health
Files, we also follow the practice of not naming diplomatic sources –something that is de jure even among the big news outlets. Anonymity iscentral to diplomats, for it enables them to share their views and insights
without fear of losing their identity.
This also, to an extent explains, why sources speak with us. Trust is the only
currency that small newsrooms such as ours have. After nearly 400 longform analyses on global health over the last three years, institutions anddiplomats do see us that we are here for the long haul. The sheer breadth of
our readership shows that we are trusted across the board given our attention
to detail and the depth in our coverage.
To be sure, journalists are also often seen merely as tools to disseminate
information. We are aware of how certain issues or narratives can be used tohook reporters. But all good journalism is conscious of this, while balancing
with the role that media outlets are expected to play.
Having an open mind is crucial for objectivity, but it is more than that. Our
own analysis of facts, independent investigations, and examining thenarrative behind the facts, collectively inform our editorial decisions. The
golden rule of robust journalistic practice is to confirm facts with multiple
checks and verifications and to diversify sourcing. We also employ a fairdegree of self-reflexivity while practising our craft.

SOOTHE NOT FLARE
Finally, I do believe that more journalists should look at connecting foreign
policy matters to health. There is a need to look at health more broadly,
beyond the narrow confines of how journalists traditionally covered theseissues, such as looking at this field along vertical diseases, or technicalinterventions, for example. As a former financial journalist, I am struck by
how closely integrated economics and health is, and yet there is inadequate
media attention on looking at these issues as a whole.
Given the polarized narratives and fragmented geopolitical fissures often felt
in Geneva, journalism must bring facts to light. Information is sunlight.

While misinformation and fake news have jeopardised scientific temper andimperiled democratic efforts, it goes without saying that journalism needs tocontribute to diplomatic efforts and not flare existing tensions.

THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE MEDIAMedia’s ability to engage is fully dependent on whether journalists canactually afford to play a role in the first place. While advertising dollars havedried up and choked the media industry in recent years, new business models
are taking shape, some of them being supported by readers themselves.
In the case of Geneva Health Files, we are an independent journalistic
initiative that keep us objective and enables us to raise questions. However,this independence also dictates the way we are funded. The fundamental
reader-funded nature of this initiative by way of subscriptions, is vital andcentral. We are cautious about ethical considerations, and the kind of grantfunding we can receive given the political nature of global health itself. Our
hope is that more of our readers become paying subscribers to fund thispublic service journalism.
Everyone has a stake in understanding global health diplomacy andjournalism is one of the means to that end.