Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the health diplomacy developed within the IBSA platform, and especially the initiatives regarding the HIV infection. It also looks at the possibilities of south-south cooperation on health-related issues, particularly regarding the IBSA countries and the African continent.

Paper long abstract:

Since its foundation in 2003, the India-Brazil-South Africa Platform (IBSA) has expanded its scope and furthered cooperation in a number of areas, including public health and alleviation of poverty. But with the inclusion of South Africa into the BRICS grouping, the future of IBSA as an independent diplomatic and political forum is questioned. Talks on the "IBSAization" of the BRICS have suggested that the former is bound to be merged in the latter. At the same time, the recent prominence of health issues in shaping foreign policy around the globe has created some debate - in academy and diplomatic spheres alike - on "health diplomacy", i.e., forms of cooperation envisaging the amelioration of public health systems and the promotion of health-related rights (including the human right to treatment in a non-discriminatory fashion). In this context, this paper examines the "health diplomacy" that has so far been put forward within the IBSA platform, and particularly the initiatives regarding the HIV infection. Moreover, it discusses what the future holds for such efforts in the scenario of "IBSAization" of the BRICS. I argue that the centrality assumed by HIV and health issues in the IBSA platform represents an immense possibility of South-South cooperation particularly when it turns to the African continent (and here the roles of Brazil and South Africa are preponderant). Finally, I briefly examine the results of the Burundi Workshop in HIV (sponsored by the IBSA Fund) as an example of best practices that can be implemented elsewhere.