H1N1 and Our Global Health Infrastructure

October 22nd, 2009 - 1 Comment

As the H1N1 pandemic continues its spread around the world, many businesses, governments, and NGOs are learning that they are ill-prepared to handle such a disease outbreak. Earlier this year on Business Casual, Smeal’s Fariborz Ghadar warned of this scenario:

Some developed countries have systems to track, identify, and quarantine outbreaks such as this, but many developing countries simply cannot do it. Compounding the problem is the fact that very few national entities talk to one another. The current infrastructure leaves much to be desired.  To manage potential pandemics, we need  global mechanisms in place beforehand to handle situations like this as they arise, not after.

In his book Global Tectonics: What Every Business Needs to Know, co-authored by Erik Peterson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ghadar elaborates on the weaknesses in our global health infrastructure and offers some solutions:

Countries need a global health infrastructure that responds quickly and effictively to epidemics … or to terrorist-induced disease outbreaks. In this era of increased economic and social integration, an outbreak in one country can develop into a global pandemic in a matter of days. As a result, governments, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and private companies must devise health care solutions that cross borders as effectively as the infectious agents they work to contain.

International disease control will present vast opportunities and challenges to businesses operating in afflicted countries or working to provide containment products and services. The ability of these corporations, along with governments and NGOs, to react and respond to outbreaks, and to devise solutions that meet the health care needs of the world’s population, will be critical to continued global prosperity.

More specifically, what should businesses be doing to prepare for contingencies arising from natural or deliberate epidemics and disease-related volatility? First, they need to engage in scenario-analysis in order to begin to define their reactions in the event of an epidemic. Second, they should assess the extent to which international and national institutions are prepared for such contingencies—especially because public-private sector partnership is critical to defining and implementing solutions. Finally, the growing threat of bioterrorism suggests new possibilities for the private sector to marshal its resources and technological innovation in support of new biodefenses and procedures.

Tags: Ghadar, Globalization, Pandemic, Swine Flu

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “H1N1 and Our Global Health Infrastructure”

1. Mike Rowan says:

   October 24, 2009 at 12:13 am

   You know, the interesting thing about this blog is that as the world becomes more wired, sites like google are playing a larger and larger key in predicting and serving as the 1st alert for pandemics and infectious outbreaks.

   This is done by analyzing search topics by geography. For example, if Google detected an increase in Swine Flu Symptom searches in Philadelphia, it would be a good indication that there is some type of swine flu activity taking place in that area.

   It is exciting to think of the many ways that simple searches can help to serve as tools for first responders and urban planners.