Harm Reduction: How Science Diplomacy Enhances Dialogue and Evidence-Based Policy

Science, communicated well, provides a critical opportunity for stakeholders involved in global health policy development to engage and break down barriers. Policy development in e.g. pharmaceutical, tobacco and food regulation often lack a robust science base, which leads to politically driven rather than evidence-based policy. By widely sharing our biomedical discoveries, cultivating research talent and human resources in developing countries, and negotiating treaties and other international agreements that save lives and improve health, we can provide leadership through science and foster more constructive relations with other countries. Both the United Nations High Level Meeting Political Declaration and WHO Global Action Plan on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases call for multi-stakeholder action and evidence-based policies. Sound global health policy will greatly benefit if we can generate new ideas to show the positive role science and scientists can play in the design and development of policies to ensure the highest possible standards of health, wealth and stability of the world.