Global Health Security

Traditionally the areas of global health and security have been seen as important but clearly distinct. However, the past ten years has seen the rise of a number of issues which cross this boundary, from the threat of bioterrorism in the post 9/11 world which pushed security ever closer to the field of health, to the challenges of SARS and influenza pandemics which clearly highlighted the interdependence of health and security. Global health security as a distinct research and policy area owes much to the processes that occurred following the end of the Cold War in the field of security, particularly those which lead to the acceptance and creation of a new range of challenges as security issues. Health issues were prominent within this, most notably in the form of HIV/AIDS. However, whilst the subject of HIV/AIDS and its relationship to security remains well developed in research terms, there has been a growing recognition that what scholars and practitioners mean when they use the term global health security is far broader than the conventional security challenges of a single virus. Most notably, there are set of key questions that remain in the field of global health security which this seminar series seeks to address. These include the core question of what is meant by the term global health security; the identification of the principal contemporary challenges in the area; an assessment of who has identified these challenges, an exploration of who is seeking to address them and an evaluation of the implications of this in terms of policy and practice.

This seminar series moves beyond traditional subjects in order to explore new areas of research in global health security. It will consider the term global health security, exploring the ethical implications of the concept with regard to the impact that this has on global health security in policy and practice. It further seeks to analyse the role of different actors in the field, notably assessing the role of the military in the provision of global health security, which in light of recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has been particularly controversial, the role of private companies and the pharmaceutical industry. The seminar series will also address new challenges in global health security including the safety of health and development workers in areas of conflict and instability; both international aid workers and local staff have been increasingly targeted as part of wider political struggles in countries such as Pakistan. The new challenge posed by the trade in illicit tobacco, which contributes to a major cause of ill health in the form of diseases related to tobacco use, but also undermines the efforts taken to control tobacco use by the international public health community will also be explored. In addition the seminar series will consider the issue of non-communicable diseases in the global south; the international focus on the treatment and prevention of communicable diseases in the region has meant that measures to prevent and address those diseases that pose the greatest burden have not been fully explored. Ultimately this seminar series takes the established literature on global health security as a starting point and sets out to advance the field through an exploration of the key existing and emerging challenges.

There are a number of potential beneficiaries who could both participate in debates and utilise the research findings of the proposed seminar series. These were identified in the planning stages of this proposed seminar series and it is particularly relevant that one of the co-investigators, Dr Sowerby, is a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst a British military training establishment. The involvement of RMA Sandhurst provides a direct civil military link that is particularly important as the British military will be one of the beneficiaries of this research. They will benefit from the policy relevant conclusions this research generates, which have the potential to assist in the formulation of doctrine and policy for British military medical personnel deployed on operations where they are expected to play a role in delivering, or assisting in the delivery of, health security. This research is particularly relevant as it comes at a time when the British military is engaged in a restructuring process which will shape the nature of future operations. The engagement of this particular group of beneficiaries, including those involved in training roles, from the outset provides an opportunity to influence and shape future developments.

There are also additional beneficiaries from within the wider British government. For example, the recognition that health policy has a global element means that the seminar series and its findings are of interest to government departments as diverse as the Department of Health, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for International Development. In preparing this bid links have been made to representatives from a number of these areas in order to encourage their engagement in the discussion, promote dialogue and ensure the findings of the seminar series are relevant to the intended beneficiaries. The findings of the seminars, particularly the executive summary and the final policy brief, will be sent to these representatives.

There are also beneficiaries in the third sector particularly those who deliver or provide health care aid or assistance internationally. It is intended to include a number of representatives from this area in the seminar discussions in order that they are part of the research dialogue and therefore influence the conclusions from which they will benefit. The findings of the series, in the form of the executive summaries and the policy brief, will be disseminated to these groups.

The seminar series is designed with a targeted plan to facilitate the engagement of the identified beneficiaries. This engagement includes:
1) Invitations to both speak and participate at the seminars, which will promote both dialogue and facilitate in enabling the relevance of the conclusions to the identified beneficiaries.
2) The publication and dissemination of the executive summaries and the final policy brief to the identified beneficiaries.
3) Targeted press invitations to seminars, particularly to The Lancet and British Medical Journal, in order to facilitate the dissemination of findings to a wider audience.
4) Publication of relevant material on the seminar series website which will be publically available. Material will include the details of each seminar, the seminar papers, speaker biographies, online discussion forums, videos of seminars and links to the Twitter account of the series.