Strategic Perspective on Solutions to Public Health Problems in the Asia-

Pacific Region

James R. Campbell, Ph.D., M.P.H.Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

campbellj@apcss.org

Strategic Objectives for the Asia-Pacific Region

• Determine fundamental causes of relevant medical and public health security challenges and vulnerabilities, and most effective means to mitigate them

• Strengthen institutional capacity at national and transnational levels to enhance national, regional and international security

• Foster defense support to civil authorities in dealing with humanitarian assistance and disaster response

• Promote critical thinking on global security challenges such as water, food and energy scarcity; pandemic; and climate change

• Increase the ability to collect and share data/information related to health trends and public health capacity at a regional level

Challenges for PACOM in MeetingRegional Strategic Objectives Related

to Public Health Security

• Policy constraints• Resources limitations• Expertise (technical; regional)• Regional perceptions of military’s

motive/agenda• Cultural miss-understanding (mutual)

Soft Power; Phase 0

• Assessment of the environment; receptivity• Shaping of the environment• Relationship building• Capacity building• Public:Private Partnerships• Recognition that health security is a sine qua non for

sustainable regional security• Co-creation of outcomes (recognizing culture in the Pacific)• Desired end state - quicker reaction time

Business Case• What are the drivers for industry?

• DOD has established HADR as a mission co-equal with war fighting, and PACOM requires industry’s assistance to be able to maintain an end state in Disaster Relief (not just stabilize, and pull out), in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Industry can leverage DOD strengths in logistics, communications • Where are the gaps that industry can fill?

• PACOM lacks the technology and technical expertise to collect and share data/information related to health trends and public health capacity at a regional level.

• Most countries in the Asia-Pacific region also lack expertise and resources to conduct timely surveillance and identification of disease outbreaks, posing regional and global public health threats

• Need sophisticated data security technologies and tools to search and share data/information resources needed for HADR mission

A Favorable Environment Exists for Industry to Invest in Public Health Security in the Asia-Pacific• Southeast Asia alone has a population of 500 milllion people, and a combined GDP of $1.5 trillion• Natural disasters (earthquake, tsunami, cyclone, pandemic) continue to have the potential to

cause major loss of life and property in the region, and countries need advanced technology to predict and mitigate disasters.

• Emerging economies like Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia are very serious about cooperation on transnational security threats like pandemic influenza, HIV/AIDS, and MDR/XDR tuberculosis. Effects of climate change.

• Regional organizations (ASEAN) and individual countries have a legal obligation to comply with International Health Regulations (2007) to conduct enhanced surveillance and reporting of infectious disease outbreaks

• Industry can complement, not compete with the military, with USAID and NGOs as technology providers and consultants. “Coopetition”

• Corporate Social Responsibility. The Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit. ISO 26000, or ISO SR (Social Responsibility). A significant number of studies have shown a positive correlation with Corporate Social Responsibility and improved shareholder returns. (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010).

Potential Industry Contributions

• Toolkits for rapid assessment of needs, health situation, epidemiologic situation, in present and potential situations.

• Visual analytics – Intuitive, culture-neutral displays of information– Identification of linkages, interconnections between various countries

and different arms of government (interagency)– Extraction of actionable knowledge from massive data sets

• Sophisticated data security technologies and tools to search and share data/information resources needed to support mission areas

• Medical interventions (drugs, vaccines, field portable medical equipment)• Technical consultants (Business Continuity Plans; Data Management; Public

Health Surveillance and Laboratory Detection technologies; Metrics

MAHALOMAHALO