ABSTRACT:
In today’s crisis-stricken world, minorities’ health encounters multifaceted challenges, of which, several are sustained by the deficit of accurate information and the lack of a constructive, people-oriented, dialogue. Acknowledging the critical role of “noopolitik”1, especially in post-truth era, the proposed paper focuses on the relationship between health diplomacy and the media. In this context, the study adopts a theoretical approach, synthesizing social constructivism2, securitization theory3 and framing theory4 to investigates in depth the relationship between health diplomacy and the media. Particularly, leveraging media representations as a tool it explores how health-related issues concerning refugees and migrants were framed by news media in the first-entry country, Greece, during the period of 2015-2020. Methodologically, a quantitative content analysis was applied to 1193 news stories from national and international media outlets. The research developed and presents specific frames and through their elements highlights the decisive role of the media in strengthening or weakening health diplomacy. More specifically the results indicate that the public discourse around health and migration is structured by media narratives that cultivate the representation of the country (Greece) in terms of erosion, while at the same time obscuring the global dimension of health issues concerning refugees and migrants and stigmatizing them. These journalistic practices perpetuate colonial narratives and sustain state-centric approaches of health. In light of these findings, the study presents an integrative approach for the communication of health issues affecting vulnerable populations (e.g. refugees and migrants, indigenous peoples, racialized minorities). This approach seeks to address the circulation of “deficit discourses” regarding minorities’ health and it can serve as a mechanism for decolonisation of global health through a constructive interplay between health diplomacy and media.