PHC-P participates in global health engagement to enhance peacekeeping operations

DHAKA, BANGLADESH-Experts from the U.S. Army Public Health Command -- Pacific (PHC-P), alongside experts in preventive medicine, epidemiology, laboratory and environmental sciences and engineering from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit-6 (NEPMU-6), Regional Health Command -- Pacific (RHC-P) and the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) conduct a multi-lateral global health engagement on public health and force health protection in support of peacekeeping at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT), April 10-13, 2016, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The global health engagement focused on public health and force health protection in support of U.N. peacekeeping operations worldwide. The engagement provided an opportunity to share, develop, and integrate public health and force health protection best practices as well as mark the start of a strong collaboration among allies, ensuring a positive and enduring relationship between the U.S., Bangladesh, Nepal and New Zealand in support of peacekeeping operations worldwide.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Maksudur Rahman, Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College, kicked off the global health engagement, highlighting the key issue of force health protection, during his keynote address.

"The greatest challenge peacekeepers face is remaining healthy," remarked Rahman. "Missions fail because of a lack of standard operating procedures, basic hygiene, sanitation and maintenance," he added.

Rahman also went on to reinforce that force health protection is vital to all peacekeeping missions. Force health protection ensures forces are kept healthy before, during and after the mission-- with a focus on reducing disease and injuries, minimizing occupational and environmental exposures and preventing the movement of communicable diseases such as cholera, malaria or Ebola.

Global health engagements, such as peacekeeping operations, build and support health system capacities, and enhance ready and deployable medical forces for times of conflict. They place Soldiers in more austere environments, provide medical training in times of peace and improve their ability to work more effectively across cultures. Global health engagements also present opportunities for medical professionals to deploy in support of their operational unit, solidifying existing relationships and fostering new ones.

Maj. Naomi Skinner, Force Health Protection Officer, RHC-P, shared her experiences conducting assessments of deployment sites and creating a more comprehensive health surveillance system during this global health engagement which focused on the force of health during peacekeeping operations.

"The assessment is a key factor to ensuring we are able to monitor this surveillance data to identify potential health risks to those personnel working and living at those various deployment sites. A vigilant monitoring program will enable timely interventions to prevent, treat, or control disease and injury of the peacekeeping force to ensure mission success," stated Skinner.

U.S. Navy Capt. Annette Von Thun, lead U.S. delegate, NEPMU-6, underscored the importance of communication, through subject matter expert exchanges, in order to maintain an effective surveillance program.

Von Thun stated, "There will be a particular emphasis on disease surveillance since peacekeeping troops are a highly mobile and vulnerable population who can spread infectious diseases. Our proposed ongoing subject matter expertise exchanges will build inherent public health capacity and force health protection programs to keep the military population healthy, thereby mitigating disease and environmental threats to the local, domestic and international populations."

Communication is a vital component to the success of global health engagements. Information exchanges between subject matter experts establish trust, increase interoperability and forge powerful relationships which all contribute to the goal and success of protection of our forces.

The end of this global health engagement marks the beginning of future collaborative partnerships forging strong relationships with other partner nations.

"In this past week, we have made great strides with both the Bangladesh and Nepal military medical professionals," stated Lt. Col. Bryony Soltis, Director Health Security Cooperation and Health, AFRIMS. "The relationships we have established at this subject matter expert exchange will serve us well in collaborating and synergizing our efforts to protect our military personnel supporting peacekeeping operations," added Soltis.

PHC-P is committed to supporting strategic national and theater security cooperation objectives through key global health engagements on public health and force health protection to prevent, detect, and respond to global health threats posed by infectious diseases, whether naturally occurring, deliberate, or accidental. These engagements bring to the forefront the importance of maintaining and optimizing health while protecting forces, countries, and the communities they support.

The April global health engagement was the first medical expert exchange in a series of planned engagements between the U.S., Bangladesh, Nepal, and New Zealand.

The next exchange will take place in May 2016, near Kathmandu, Nepal.

Story contributed by Lt. Col. Dennis Palalay, Director, Global Health Engagements, Public Health Command-Pacific

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