PrintHealth and Peacebuilding
In collaboration with the Center for Public Health and Human Rights of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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Pandemics and Peace
USIP Book Launch Event | June 27, 2011
Upon the publication of "Pandemics and Peace: Public Health Cooperation in Zones of Conflict" (USIP Press, June 2011), please join author Dr. William J. Long and panelists Dr. Jose Fernandez and Dr. Allyn Taylor for a discussion on the relationship between pandemics and peace. Topics will include the correlation between infectious disease control and the use of military forces, the successes and challenges of the implementation of the new International Health Regulations, the relationship between public health cooperation and transnational political cooperation, and the U.S. role in global health cooperation. | Learn more about the book
Recent Highlights
Health in Post-Conflict and Fragile States
USIP Conference | June 9-10, 2011
The conference reviewed the last decade in health programming in post-conflict and fragile states, as well as addressed key questions about the intersection of health in "fragile states" and development, national security policy, and considered a way forward. | Learn more
Haiti: Elections in the Time of Cholera
USIP Event | December 7, 2010
Endangered by a cholera epidemic that has claimed some 1000 lives, Haiti held elections for president and parliament on November 28. A panel of experts spoke addressed these issues in a public forum co-hosted by USIP's Haiti Working Group and USIP's Working Group on Health and Peacebuilding.
Listen to Past Health and Peacebuilding Events
U.S. Health Inititatives in Afghanistan
This event considered the goals and objectives of health programs in Afghanistan, what expectations can be for health programs in achieving those goals, and the roles of civilian agencies and the military in carrying out health programs. The panelists also addressed current controversies about health programs in areas of armed conflict, including the military’s role in health programs for civilian populations as well as the role of USAID in supporting military objectives.
Can Health Be a Bridge to Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
Can health interventions in regions of conflict advance the health needs of civilians while simultaneously fostering greater cooperation and contributing to a stable peace? This panel reviewed these questions in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where a considerable number of efforts to foster cooperation in health have been undertaken.
- Palestinian Delegation Visits USIP
News Feature by Hasan Aloul | May 27, 2011
Cross-Border Disease Surveillance: Promoting Cooperation or Sowing Tension?
The Working Group on Health and Peacebuilding hosted a panel to consider cross-border cooperation in disease surveillance, and the broader questions about the relationship between health and national security.
Health is an essential component of social well–being. Through the Health and Peacebuilding Working Group, USIP addresses the relationship between health programs and conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction.
Topics include strategies for protecting health of civilians caught up in war, division of responsibilities among local health agencies, donors, NGOs, military organizations and others in humanitarian and post-conflict development, and the relationship of health programs to other initiatives, such as those designed to address gender-based violence, and contributions health and health cooperation can make to peacebuilding.
Toxic Legacy: Hunger, Oppression, Migration, and Health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
January 2011 | Peace Brief by Leonard S. Rubenstein
This Peace Brief explores the current health status of North Korea, initiatives to strengthen the health system, the potential impact of migration and informal markets on health, and prospects for the future health of the population.
Countries: Korean Peninsula, North Korea, South Korea | Issue Areas: Economics and Conflict, Health and Peacebuilding, Political Reform
Humanitarian Space Shrinking for Health Program Delivery in Afghanistan and Pakistan
October 2010 | Peace Brief by Leonard S. Rubenstein
This Peace Brief uses the work of one NGO, the International Medical Corps, as a case study to understand the factors that are contributing to the diminution of humanitarian space and actions that could possibly expand it.
Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan | Issue Areas: Health and Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
The Health Sector and Gender-Based Violence in a Time of War
April 2010 | Peace Brief by Anjalee Kohli, Kathleen Kuehnast, Leonard Rubenstein
The challenges of effectively addressing sexual and gender-based violence in war torn communities are daunting. This Peace Brief describes the pivotal role the health sector can play, obstacles to its exercising these needed functions, and steps that can be taken to contribute to developing support for survivors as part of an integrated approach.
Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding, Health and Peacebuilding
Health Initiatives and Counterinsurgency Strategy in Afghanistan
March 2010 | Peace Brief by Leonard S. Rubenstein
An initiative by the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan to expand health services throughout the country, including rural communities, and supported by donors including USAID, has vastly expanded access to primary health care services, significantly reduced child mortality, and increased the capacity of the Afghan government to provide an essential service to its people.