HEALTH DIPLOMACY

YouTube premiere "From Kreisky's living room"

Eva Nowotny in conversation with Gerald Rockenschaub

HEALTH DIPLOMACY
Mediation between conflicting parties in health matters

Dr Gerald Rockenschaub studied medicine at the University of Graz, was initially a surgeon and emergency physician, and joined WHO/Europe in 2004 as Regional Representative and Programme Director, where he was responsible for emergency preparedness and humanitarian aid. From 2014 to 2021, he was Head of the WHO Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) in Jerusalem, then became WHO Representative in Albania and most recently Director of the WHO Europe Emergency Programme in Copenhagen. As a doctor, he ended up in the centre of international conflict. The term „health diplomat“ is based on his mediation work between the conflicting parties in health matters - be it acute humanitarian interventions or basic measures such as infection prevention, hygiene and ensuring healthcare in crisis situations. The focus is always clearly on the patients - because they are often at risk of being lost in political conflicts.

Gerald Rockenschaub, WHO, Director for Health Emergencies in the European Region (retired).

Eva Nowotny, Board member of the Bruno Kreisky Forum, retired diplomat.