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U.S. global health policy: the U.S. Department of Defense and global health
U.S. global health policy: the U.S. Department of Defense and global health
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Michaud, Josh, author
Moss, Kellie, author
Kates, Jen, author - Contributor(s):
- Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Menlo Park, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2012
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Delivery of Health Care -- organization & administration
Global Health
Internationality
United States
United States. Department of Defense - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The Department of Defense (DoD) is the oldest and largest U.S. executive branch department. It is currently the nation's largest employer and oversees activities in virtually every country in the world. Since its creation, the core mission of DoD has been to "provide the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of the United States." Over time, the way the department approaches and carries out its mission has changed along with shifts in national security circumstances and priorities. In recent decades an emphasis on traditional warfighting capabilities and military-to-military combat operations has given way to an approach that emphasizes a balance between warfighting and the prevention, mitigation, and resolution of conflict. While such non-conventional roles have long been a part of DoD's approach, in recent years they have received noticeably greater attention and policy support from the U.S. national security and defense establishment. As a consequence the department now finds itself squarely within the nexus of a more multifaceted, "whole-of-government" approach to national security that by design embraces the tools of diplomacy, development and defense together. As part of the shift toward a more balanced approach and in response to a growing sense among U.S. policymakers that global health is important for U.S. national security, DoD has increasingly emphasized and engaged in global health activities, including medical research and development, technical assistance and capacity building, health infrastructure support, and health service delivery. Yet, because DoD is not a development agency and improving global health is not one of its core objectives, it has not always been clear to those inside and outside the department how global health fits into its mission. In fact, the department itself typically does not define its activities in this area as "global health." Many in the global health community have little knowledge of DoD's work in global health and struggle to understand what the department does in this area and how it intersects with the efforts of other U.S. government agencies and global health actors. Exacerbating the misunderstandings have been differences in approach, organizational culture, and vocabulary between DoD and the global health community at large that have at times made communication and mutual understanding more difficult. This report helps address these information gaps by providing the first comprehensive assessment of DoD's role in global health, looking across the entire department. It summarizes the history and current policy context of DoD's engagement with global health, identifies the components and elements within DoD involved in global health-related activities, and describes the main types of activities that comprise its work in this area. The report also examines how the department coordinates its activities with other actors, identifies the policy and guidance documents that apply to its global health-related work, and summarizes what is known about its budget for these activities. Finally, the report discusses key issues to consider as policymakers--both inside and outside the department--gauge what steps should be taken to improve the department's efforts related to global health.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (45 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101628397 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101628397