UN PEACE KEEPING And PUBLIC HEALTH POINTS FOR REFLECTION

121 countries (TCC) contribute troops and police to the UN Peace Keeping Operations

Health of Peace Keepers and of Host Populations Medical services and safeguards re military personnel: Exposure to environmental issues and relevant communicable diseases Proper screening before deployment Exposure to peace keepers as vectors Conditions and routines of the peace keeping force Interactions with peacekeepers Use of materiel for emergency medical services (the humanitarian angle)

provide mental health services to peacekeepers (culture shock, PTSD, standard) “I have a military background, what standard of care we give, what is acceptable in a military environment, in a warzone, is not what would be acceptable in Cornell or NYU Return impact on family, nation

TCC are to follow the UN protocol re recruiting and deploying Peace Keeping Personnel “Chief Medical Officer (CMO) confirmed that medical services had witnessed cases of contingent members diagnosed with chronic/serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis, etc., which were clearly developed prior to that deployment for mission duty…The affected troop members could spread communicable disease such as tuberculosis to other troops and mission personnel.”

Exposures in the host country Food borne diseases Malaria

The Humanitarian Angle It is almost “natural” for medical officers stationed with the Peace Keeping Forces, to become involved with health care for the most needy and vulnerable of the peoples they serve. Yet, such mission creep can become a problem if the relations with the local health services and the international humanitarian agencies are not carefully calibrated.

UN peacekeepers are grappling with how to halt the spread of AIDS within their ranks A study of Dutch soldiers on a 5-month peacekeeping mission in Cambodia found that 45 per cent had sexual contact with prostitutes or other members of the local population during their deployment. With 18 violent conflicts, tens of thousands of troops in the field and some 8 million refugees and internally displaced people, Dr. Halle noted, it would be surprising if war were not a major factor in the spread of HIV in Africa. "There is a whole context [in combat areas] which contributes to the spread of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases like HIV."

Ebola and Peace Keeping Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia strengthen their precautionary measures, after reports of a new case of Ebola were reported A battalion of 800 Sierra Leone soldiers awaiting deployment as peacekeepers in Somalia has been placed in quarantine, following new reports of Ebola cases.

Cholera outbreak in Haiti “Although the UN may have been legally correct (and financially prudent, given the organization’s stretched resources) in refuting liability for the Haiti cholera cases, the episode and the arguments advanced by the UN have damaged the organization’s legitimacy and moral standing.” (source: IPI Healing or Harming)