From Conflict to Pandemics

The CSIS Global Health Policy Center formed a working group in the spring of 2009 to examine the nexus of security and global health, with a special focus on the missions and programs of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Specifically, the group concentrated on:

• The role of the U.S. Department of Defense in preparing for global pandemics
• Leveraging military-to-military cooperation to support global health
• Preserving and improving civilian health in conflict-affected nations

An additional appendix examines the respective roles of civilian institutions and the military in promoting health in conflicted settings.

The CSIS Global Health and Security Working Group, cochaired by recently retired Colonel Eugene Bonventre, M.D., and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake, M.D., convened health and security experts from U.S. government agencies, humanitarian organizations, academia, the private sector, and foundations. Over the course of 10 months, the 40-member group held four formal meetings, hosted multiple guest lecturers, and had numerous side discussions. Out of this emerged a realistic strategy, detailed in the three papers contained herein, for the United States to concurrently improve global health and security.

This report represents the majority opinion of working group members, not a unanimous consensus on every last issue. The opinions expressed in the report are those of the cochairs. Within this report are actionable recommendations for how the Obama administration can better use its military health programs to overcome knowledge gaps between the often segregated global health and national security objectives and improve interagency and civil-military communication. Recommendations focus on increasing global public health capacity, improving access to health care for host-nation civilians, and increasing security and stability abroad.