Title: Global Health Security
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: 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.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES;8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: INFECTION