Preparing Civil Society and Academia for the 2026 UN Social Forum: The Role of Health Diplomats
In 2026, the Social Forum will take place on 29 and 30 October in Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations, Geneva. In accordance with resolution 59/21 of the Human Rights Council, it will focus on the contribution of international cooperation and solidarity, including South-South cooperation, to the realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Key UN documents
For the Institute for Public Diplomacy, the Forum raises an important question: how can civil society and academia strengthen their capacity to participate in international health diplomacy and contribute to decisions that affect people's lives?
As a member of the World Health Organization's Civil Society Commission, the Institute has a direct connection to an international mechanism for strengthening dialogue and collaboration between WHO and civil society. This engagement reinforces the importance of equipping civil society organisations and academic experts to move beyond observing international discussions and towards contributing knowledge, developing proposals and facilitating cooperation.
The Institute sees health diplomacy as an important field in which public diplomats can help connect scientific expertise, societal interests and international decision-making.
Health diplomacy is often associated with negotiations between governments, international health regulations and cooperation among national health authorities. However, the challenges shaping global health extend far beyond official diplomatic channels.
Access to medicines, the affordability of healthcare, health inequalities, pandemic preparedness and the distribution of health technologies are influenced by decisions involving governments, international organisations, academic institutions, businesses and civil society.
Civil society organisations can bring the experiences of affected communities into these discussions. Academic experts can contribute scientific evidence, independent analysis and policy recommendations. Professional networks can connect expertise across borders, while grassroots organisations can identify problems that remain overlooked in international policy debates.
These actors can perform important diplomatic functions: identifying shared interests, facilitating dialogue, building coalitions and translating societal concerns into proposals for international cooperation.
Health diplomats working in civil society and academia do not replace official representatives. They complement formal diplomacy by connecting institutions with society and helping ensure that international health discussions take account of a broader range of knowledge, experiences and interests.
The affordability of healthcare, health inequalities are not discussed exclusively within the World Health Organization. These issues are also shaped by decisions concerning economic policy, public finance, debt sustainability, development financing and investment, which feature prominently in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG).
The Institute for Public Diplomacy has participated meaningfully in these multilateral processes, recognising that effective health diplomacy requires engagement across institutional boundaries. Its involvement in the WHO Civil Society Commission, alongside its participation in the IMF and WBG Annual Meetings, reflects the importance of connecting public health priorities with the broader economic and financial decisions that influence health systems and access to healthcare worldwide.
The growing burden of debt must not come at the expense of health and human development. Countries must not be forced to choose between servicing their debt and ensuring their populations have access to essential healthcare, medicines and the benefits of scientific progress,” said Oleg Weretelnik, PHD, Director of the Institute.
“It is unacceptable that wealthy individuals and powerful pharmaceutical corporations can exploit tax loopholes while working people pay the price through deteriorating health and barriers to healthcare. Big companies must pay their fair share of taxes.
International cooperation must tackle tax avoidance and ensure that multinational corporations contribute fairly to the societies from which they derive their profits. Working people should not have to pay for big farma tax avoidance with their health.”
This year Social forum will provide a platform for States, UN entities, international financial institutions, national human rights institutions, civil society, and academia among other stakeholders to examine how a right to development perspective can guide and accelerate the realization of the right to health.
Session 1. International cooperation for the right to health amid declining international health financing
Session 2. Securing sufficient policy and fiscal space to enable countries to meet their health-related human rights obligations
Session 3. Equitable access to medicines, vaccines, medical equipment and health products
Session 4. The protection of the right to health and to development in armed conflict
Session 5. Foster an inclusive and rights-based digital health transformation
Six members of the Institute for Public Diplomacy have registered for the 2026 UN Social Forum. Some will participate in person at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, while others will contribute remotely, including through pre-recorded video messages that the Institute will submit to the Forum Secretariat.
