Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
into public health planning across agencies demands a more inclusive framework
discussed in the last section (otte et al. 2004). 23
Conclusions and Recommendations
Back to Basics: Human Security as the Answer?
one thing is clear: avian influenza and similar global epidemics cannot be defeated as
long as its multiple causes are not eliminated. First, we need a genuine commitment
to human development, which implies tackling the structural and institutional sources
of deprivation, disempowerment, and inequitable access to health services ('Meeting
report' 2004). Second, we need a dependable human rights system to protect the
feeble, the poor, and the marginalised during any crisis of vast proportions, just
as we require a humanised public security framework to awaken policy makers to
the security threats presented by ill health and structural violence. third, we need
to take environmental responsibilities seriously, while the interaction with animals
and the handling of animal production, processing, and marketing for food all need
to change (Fao, oIe, and wHo 2005). these are complex long-term agendas, and
the time and resources of international policy makers are more likely to be focussed
on more immediate issues. Yet these processes need to unfold in tandem, because
trade, aid, financing, drug production, hygiene, dietary patterns, animals, birds, and
humans all feed into the H5n1 mix.
this situation leaves two timeframes and multiple, seemingly disjointed
concerns. Poor countries worry about diverting attention from development.
Different government agencies in the wealthy countries prioritise either public
health or security. nGos tend to stress the potential human rights implications. the
private sector calculates the economic impact of avian influenza. Yet containing and,
ultimately, eliminating the virus depend critically on the ability to obtain the maximum
support of all societal actors. taking the perspective of human security—which
places health, wealth, security, prosperity, and sustainable development within one
inclusive framework—is one way to bring these divergent elements together. Unlike
more traditional approaches to security, human security addresses the more mundane
questions of daily survival: hunger, disease, poverty, environmental degradation,
and conflict. Most importantly, it is results-oriented: as noted in the 1994 Human
Development Report , 'in the final analysis, human security is a child who did not
die, a disease that did not spread, a job that was not cut, an ethnic tension that did
not explode into violence, a dissident who was not silenced … Human security … is
a concern with human life and dignity' (UnDP 1994, 22). by providing a common
language among stakeholders—veterinarians, environmentalists, chief executive
officers, civil servants, farmers, diplomats, military chiefs, and health practitioners—
human security might help mobilise support and establish a broad consensus on the
policies and strategies needed to wean societies away from high-risk practices.
 
 
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