Welcome address to the participants of the 12th WHO-REMPAN Planning and Coordinating Meeting, 15-17 October 2008, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Foreword.

摘要

During the last decade human security has become a priority area of work for many international agencies of the United Nations (UN). As a specialized UN Agency on health, World Health Organization (WHO) took a leadership role on issues related to public health security. Global public health security widens this definition to include acute public health events that endanger the collective health of populations living across geographical regions and international boundaries. Global health security, or lack of it, may also have an impact on economic or political stability, trade, tourism, access to goods and services, and on demographic stability. Global public health security includes the health consequences of diseases outbreaks, natural catastrophes, man-made disasters, conflicts, and terrorist and other acute events.