Health security

Health security is a concept that encompasses activities and measures across sovereign boundaries that mitigates public health incidents to ensure the health of populations. It is an evolving paradigm within the fields of international relations and security studies. Proponents of health security posit that all states have a responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of their populations. Opponents suggest health security impacts civil liberties and the equal distribution of resources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health security encompasses the “activities required to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events that endanger the collective health of populations living across geographical regions and international boundaries”. It is the responsibility of governments globally to protect the health of their populations. The advent of new security challenges, resulting from increasing global vulnerability to infectious diseases has created demand for greater global commitment and collaboration towards public health. Globalisation, and the advent of transnational concerns regarding the spread of infectious disease, have become integral to national and international security agendas. Disease, pandemics, and epidemics have become of increasing concern for global policymakers and governments, requiring mobilisation of essential resources for the implementation of rapid and effective health procedures. The WHO, and initiatives such as the Global Health Security Agenda are central to advocacy of health security - aiming to improve detection, prevention, and response to infectious disease through public health surveillance and partnerships between states. Health security is a concept or framework for public health issues which includes protection of national populations from external health threats such as pandemics. Four types of security may be considered in this context: biosecurity; global health security; human security; and national security.