Building Health Security in Contemporary Afghanistan

The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies is planning our third Health Security event and first joint event with the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Health Affairs. The event will be here in Washington, DC at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City.

The Conference is scheduled for 13-14 May 2009 and entitled ""Building Health Security in Contemporary Afghanistan." It provides an opportunity for the policy/security and the medical and humanitarian communities to exchange views in an academic ‘non-attribution’ setting on security topics focused on policy, health, and the way ahead for Afghanistan.

The goal of the first day is to introduce health as a security issue to the audience, and discuss how health in Afghanistan is determined by regional factors. There will be three panels. The first panel will address the non-traditional security factors to include geopolitical determinants of health, such as water and food shortages, demographics and economic factors, and migration. The second panel in the afternoon will address emerging responses to those determinants, to include emerging development strategies from the region, and the final panel will address strategic parameters relating to health in Afghanistan. The first day will serve as a prelude to the more intensive second day where invitation-only working groups will address specific issues confronting DoD, ISAF, and the Afghan National Security Forces (the Police and Army) in health reconstruction in the civilian sector.

Click here if you want to register.