RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Health diplomacy through health entrepreneurship: using hackathons to address Palestinian-Israeli health concerns JF BMJ Global Health JO BMJ Global Health FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP e001548 DO 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001548 VO 4 IS 4 A1 Khalil B Ramadi A1 Shriya Srinivasan A1 Rifat Atun YR 2019 UL http://gh.bmj.com/content/4/4/e001548.abstract AB The universally shared values of improving health and well-being of populations make health a suitable diplomacy tool that transcends populations. The role of entrepreneurship in improving health and contributing to sustainable development is increasingly used in conjunction with traditional health diplomacy. In this paper, we present healthcare entrepreneurship as an effective health diplomacy tool that can spur economic growth, improve healthcare and generate sustainable development in communities. Improvements in health require involvement of diverse stakeholders including healthcare and non-health professionals to generate and implement sustainable problem-focused solutions. We illustrate the utility of early-stage innovation events, such as hackathons, in sparking entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary collaboration, ideation and innovation around problems specific to a local community. Specifically, we describe a hackathon organised in Nazareth, Israel as a means to bridge multicultural communities to address common health issues across the population. We suggest that health entrepreneurship is an important component of health diplomacy, and a critical ingredient for improved health, economic growth and sustainable development.