Brazilian’s Foreign Policy and Health (1995-2010): A policy analysis of the Brazilian Health Diplomacy – from Aids to ‘Zero Hunger’

This article examines how health entered Brazilian foreign policy between 1995 and 2010 and the factors that allowed it to support the country's international presence. This issue is rarely examined in the literature on Brazilian health diplomacy. We analyze the specificities of this process within a policy analysis approach. By drawing on literature review, document analysis and key-actor interviews, we revise policies that were triggered by far-reaching and complex historical processes of change in Brazil. The article points to significant interrelationships between foreign policy and social policy, including health. Only during Lula governments (2003-2010) did health actually enter the foreign policy agenda, in significant support of Brazil’s growing international presence. Brazil’s internationalisation of its domestic policies connected with South-South cooperation exerted a central role. These developments were made possible by the activism and commitment of a variety of State and non-State actors who acted on at least two lines: national and transnational advocacy, and coordinated activities of Brazilian diplomats and government representatives, in collaboration with civil society activists. Institutional arrangements shifted in different conjunctures and were adjusted in a process permanently prone to conflicts and moves.