Getting Real About Refugees and Public Health
They came. They saw. They left. Leaders convened in Brussels earlier this week to discuss how to move forward in earnest with the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan on refugees. The informal summit was certainly much ado about nothing. They proposed twelve goals, none of them new nor unexpected. EU officials placed emphasis on how to manage […]
Refugees, Europe, and Good Public Health Policy
By Melissa S. Hersh: In advance of a major summit on migration between Europe and Turkey slated for today, the Sweden Democrats — Sweden’s far-right, anti-immigration party — is the latest in a series of European parties to highlight infectious diseases as a reason for not accepting migrants. What’s wrong with the message the Sweden […]
Lessons from Ebola: Preparing for the Next Infectious Disease Crisis
By Sharon Jackson: The emergence of novel infectious diseases during the last 50 years has challenged both developed and developing countries. Regardless of the level of development and resource endowment, the optimal emergency preparedness and public health response to an infectious disease crisis needs at least the following three components: policies that maximize the utility […]
New Views on Health and Conflict: Mitigating Impact and Rebuilding Health Systems
Dr. Len Rubenstein, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Gloria J. Kim & Marcia D. Fernandez, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University presented findings on the impact of armed conflict on population health and health systems, and the implications for U.S. national security and foreign assistance strategies. Gloria Kim and Marcia […]
Controlling Epidemics: Use of Isolation Measures
Tools to control infectious disease outbreaks include medical and non-medical interventions. If the disease-causing agent is a novel pathogen or medical countermeasures (vaccines and drugs) are not available, immediate public health measures, such as quarantine and isolation, may be critical to mitigating the epidemic. Quarantine and isolation measures include voluntary and involuntary social distancing efforts. […]
Challenges in Health Diplomacy: Sharing Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other Benefits
The recent H1N1 influenza pandemic re-emphasized the significance of sample and benefit sharing in the global response to public health crises. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated an Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (IGM) to develop a framework for the transfer and use of virus specimens and fair […]
Russell Rumbaugh and Barry Blechman’s op-ed on USAF strategic agility published in Breaking Defense
The myriad of conflicts raging worldwide right now would pose a challenge to any defense strategy. From Russian aggression in Ukraine and China’s belligerence in contested waters to a particularly violent flaring of the Israel-Palestine conflict and Iraq’s internal chaos, these crises feature open violence each of which may require a military response. Yet, a […]
Barry Blechman’s profile is featured in The Washington Post among other key players in the security
Barry Blechman Co-founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center (since 1989) Why He Matters As Obama’s campaign against nuclear weapons heats up, he’s going to need to rely on people like Blechman. Blechman co-founded the Henry L. Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on national and international security issues. He also launched DFI […]