Well-being Diplomacy-The New Dimension To Diplomacy

Different countries sign various treaties and deals with each other, be it regarding economics, imports, exports, aid, investments, lending, free trade, etc. Moreover, maintain diplomatic relations with each other in order to achieve benefits.

The motive to start this conversation and to bring all this to light was to pinpoint one specific area which I usually talk about. The people who are constant readers of my articles, till now must have understood what I am going to utter next. But, if you are someone new and aren’t aware of what exactly is going on. Then, stick with me and you’ll gain some worthy pieces of information. 

I came across a 2018 report, according to which there were 284 million people in the world who were affected by Anxiety.  107 million people had alcohol use disorder; 264 million suffer from depression. Bipolar disorder affects 46 million people. 20 million had Schizophrenia and the list is quite lengthy.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the incidence of mental health disorders in India is as large as 7.5 percent of the total population. The digits don’t drain out here, it also stated that the incidents of suicides linked with mental health are gaining alarming proportions with estimates of the suicide rate of 21.1 per 1,00,000 population. Imagine if only a single country has this amount of sufferers then as a whole the world is in great danger and we don’t even realize it.  

So, diplomatic relations do carry a lot of weight but there must be well-being diplomacy between countries too. The issue of mental health needs to be addressed on priority, failing this could leave a trail of socio-economic spiraling costs as well.

This has to do for the betterment of the world and nations for maintaining their peace, harmony and for achieving SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals). This is high time and the need of the hour is that the countries start focusing on well-being diplomacy.  

The recent deadly COVID-19 in fact added fuel to the fire. It has set off widespread feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and despair among the people. The situation of leaving in the pandemic succeeded in leaving trails of social stress and anxiety on a global level, which will live in the memory of every human being. 

One solution to dissolve the issue is to train the ambassadors of your countries and promote multiple missions to focus on the same. Another report that I came through was in context to the survey of Indian therapists and according to it more than 85 percent of therapists surveyed said they were experiencing fatigue and over 75 percent said that fatigue had impacted their professional work. So, if the specialist themselves couldn’t stay away from the claws of the issue then how will it be possible for a normal human. 

The countries need to come together with their exuberating leadership qualities and spread awareness of mental health and well-being through peer tutoring.

Countries like Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, etc. are in dire circumstances and need strong policies, deals, or treaties in regards to mental well-being. No one is unaware of the fact that how painful is the situation in such nations. Wars and deaths make individuals’ blood run cold not only of the victims but ours as well. Everyone is busy doing politics and playing their gimmicks on such sensitive issues but no one is willing to find and pursue the solution. So, let’s leave all the negativity behind and work together on the right path and serve the globe in the manner it should be. 

Written by Prof. Nabhit Kapur.