Description
Global health diplomacy is an interdisciplinary framework that bridges public health, international relations, and public policy to improve global health outcomes (Kickbusch et al., 2022). Over the last four decades, global health diplomacy has been used as a framework to guide health interventions during conflict to promote political, structural, and social peacebuilding. This abstract examines the role of global health diplomacy in achieving peacebuilding in the context of the war between the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from 1986 to 2006.
Northern Uganda witnessed civil conflict between 1986 and 2006, which was sparked by an uprising against the National Resistance Movement (NRM), led by Yoweri Museveni, who overthrew the previous Acholi-led central government headed by Tito Okello. Museveni’s government faced opposition from multiple groups, beginning with the Ugandan People’s Democratic Party, except its rebellion was short-lived after signing a peace agreement with Museveni in 1988. Thereafter, the Holy Spirit Movement led by Alice Lakwena and later the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) headed by Joseph Kony gained notoriety for the brutality the LRA unleashed in northern Uganda.
Therefore, this paper will use data from in-depth interviews conducted in northern Uganda to examine whether global health diplomacy was an instrument for peacebuilding in the context of the LRA war. With numerous health initiatives such as those that addressed the increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and psychosocial challenges during the civil war, there is scope to determine whether these health initiatives contributed to the cessation of violence and ultimately, peacebuilding.
