— Tufts University Photo

Thanks to a Cummings Foundation $100,000 grant, The Fletcher School at Tufts University will launch a Global One Health Diplomacy Initiative dedicated to identifying holistic, interdisciplinary solutions to complex global health problems. The Initiative seeks to meet the need for effective global health diplomacy by combining The Fletcher School’s distinctive strengths in international law and diplomacy, social justice, and international peace and security, with the expertise in health and nutrition science, and human and veterinary medicine at Tufts’ health sciences schools.

“Effective responses to global health challenges now need holistic and interdisciplinary approaches, and this grant opens a tremendous opportunity to bring together Tufts’ unique constellation of schools to develop them,” said Diana Chigas, senior international officer and associate provost at Tufts University and professor of the practice of international negotiation and conflict resolution at The Fletcher School. She added, “we look forward to working with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the Medical School, and all the health sciences programs to build this exciting initiative at Tufts University.”

This funding – disbursed over two years – will advance The Fletcher School as an expert resource within the global health ecosystem. The initiative will host an international conference to apply health diplomacy tools to analyze complex and timely global health problems.  Health experts, stakeholders from governmental agencies, and practitioners from non-governmental organizations will convene at Tufts to explore responses to outbreaks such as Ebola and COVID-19 and the implications for other global health challenges. 

“At a time when global health challenges have never been so complex or so central to international relations, this generous grant is a catalyst for generating cutting edge research and action plans,” said Ian Johnstone, professor of international law at The Fletcher School, Tufts’ graduate school for international affairs.