The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2017 31 with the world that are only of interest to one or two offices at Main State. If ambassadors see that our top leadership in the department views health as a national interest priority, they will make it a priority, too. We can work to build more incentives for ambassadors to put their own imprint on health programming overseas by building in opportunities for COM initiative, either through more flexible programming or discretionary funding. Ambas- sadors’ knowledge of local conditions, power relationships and trends can help shape health programming to maximize impact. If applied correctly, increased ambassadorial discre- tion could promote greater local ownership and stronger health partnerships. Other incentives could include an annual health diplomacy leadership prize, with the involvement of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in the Deputy Secretary’s Committee that pro- poses ambassadors for the president to nominate, or an effort to include accomplishments in health diplomacy in annual reviews of ambassadors working in countries with important American health programming. Finally, ambassadors will gain more leverage in our work on health if that work is recognized clearly as a partnership with the American people. We should avoid politicizing these efforts; but we should not hide our good works under a bushel, either. We should implement a strategy worldwide to ensure that our health investments are understood clearly as coming from the generosity of the American people. This is an easy fix that will enhance ambassadors’ leverage. Diplomacy has always been the art of using whatever instruments you have to advance your national interests. It has always extended beyond traditional channels of formal negotiation to embrace the full spectrum of human engage- ment. That is why we have gunboat diplomacy, dollar diplo- macy, public diplomacy and even pingpong diplomacy. For the United States and its ambassadors all over the globe, health diplomacy can be a potent tool to advance our broader national interests. n Our work in health gave us an entrée with important civil society leaders that strengthened our engagement in sometimes unexpected ways.