Health Security
Health Security
Health Security
Global public health security encompasses both preventive and reactive measures to minimize danger faced by events that threaten people's health across regions and borders. In an increasingly globalized world, maintaining health security is more dire than ever. Global health security is the existence of strong and resilient public health systems that can prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, wherever they occur in the world. Rapidly growing populations, rapid urbanizations, environmental degradation, and overuse of antibiotics all contribute to an unstable microbial landscape. New diseases are emerging at unprecedented rates, including COVID-19, which can cause unseen burdens beyond getting sick. The prevalence of international travel has compounded this issue as pathogens are able to spread more quickly and containment becomes difficult.
Pandemics
Most prominently seen with the most recent COVID-19 pandemic, watching and controlling outbreaks of infectious diseases is imperative to maintaining global security. Pandemics not only have deadly effects to the population as a whole, but are detrimental to society as a whole, including negative effects on the economy and politics of a country.
Vaccination Efforts
Global immunization programs drastically reduce death and suffering from diseases, including rotavirus, whooping cough (pertussis), diphtheria, polio, measles, rubella, pneumococcal disease, and Japanese encephalitis, as well as Hib and other types of meningitis.While also maintaining health security, vaccines are also cost effective tools to decrease the spread of disease and the stress these diseases would have on health infrastructure.
Clean Water Access
785 million people lack even a basic drinking-water service, including 144 million people who are dependent on surface water. Contaminated water can transmit diseases such diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause 485 000 diarrhoeal deaths each year. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.
Drug-resistant Pathogens
With the high numbers of prescription antibiotics, resistance, which is a natural occurrence, has become more prevalent at accelerating rates. While antibiotics can be seen as a miracle cure, allowing for easy treatment of bacterial infections and historically prevalent diseases, the high rates of prescription combined with patient error. With this resistance, bacterial infections become harder to treat, resulting in higher costs, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality rates. A number of diseases are becoming harder to treat, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhoea, and foodborne diseases. The issue also arises in the high rate of antibiotic use in livestock. By being prepared beforehand with policies regarding overuse of antibiotics, countries may curb the rate of resistance.
Organizations Addressing Issues of Health Security
The World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. WHO's primary role is to direct international health within the United Nations' system and to lead partners in global health responses. Working with 194 Member States, across six regions, and from more than 150 offices, WHO staff are united in a shared commitment to achieve better health for everyone, everywhere.
The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)
The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is a group of 69 countries, international organizations and non-government organizations, and private sector companies that have come together to achieve the vision of a world safe and secure from global health threats posed by infectious diseases.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Working in tandem with the Global Health Security Agenda, the Centers for Disease Control CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.. The CDC plays a leading role in GHSA implementation for the United States by working directly with partner country governments to strengthen public health systems and reduce the risk of infectious disease outbreaks.
USAID
For over 50 years, USAID’s global health programs have saved lives, protected people most vulnerable to disease, and promoted the stability of communities and nations, while advancing American security and prosperity. America is safer and stronger when people can live healthy and productive lives and when nations around the world are self-reliant and resilient.
The John Hopkins Center for Health Security
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security explores how new policy approaches, scientific advances, and technological innovations can strengthen health security and save lives. Our research focuses on improving organizations, systems, and tools to prevent and respond to outbreaks and other public health crises. We advance policies and practice addressing a range of challenges, including the global rise in emerging infectious diseases, a continued risk of pandemic flu, major natural disasters, and the potential for biological accidents or intentional threats.
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