Later this month President Obama is leaving on a trip to Indonesia, marking a major diplomatic trip to the most populous Muslim nation in the world. In order to improve US relations with the Muslim world there are many diplomatic tools available. One of those, according to a new editorial in Science Magazine by Dr. Peter Hotez, is vaccine diplomacy.
Vaccine diplomacy is forging tighter bonds between nations by uniting against a common foe: disease. Citing the little known collaboration between American and Russian scientists, including Dr. Albert B. Sabin, during the Cold War that resulted in the creation of the oral polio vaccine, Hotez states that similar scientific collaborations between the United States and Islamic nations—where up to one-half of the world’s neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) occur—could lead to great scientific and societal achievements.
The longer term benefit of this vaccine diplomacy would come from eliminating the burden of disease. Muslim nations worldwide suffer greatly from the burden of NTDs, perpetuating poverty and creating instability, internally and internationally. By helping to enrich and stabilize Muslim nations, vaccine diplomacy could go a long way to helping America improve its international standing.
Access the full Science editorial here or listen to the podcast interview with Dr. Hotez here.
