While the Department of Defense’s primary mission is to protect U.S. national security and defense interests around the world, as part of those efforts, the Department increasingly is involved in improving the health of people in other countries through medical research, capacity building and other activities. The Department is not a health or development agency, yet its work in global health has become a key part of the U.S. government’s broader engagement on such issues and how those efforts are perceived overseas.

At 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday, May 16, the Kaiser Family Foundation held a policy briefing to examine Defense’s role in global health and how it intersects with the global health efforts of the U.S. government and other organizations.

The briefing featured framing remarks by Kathleen Hicks, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, as well as an overview of the Department’s efforts by the Foundation’s Associate Director for Global Health Policy Joshua Michaud, who co-authored a recent report on the subject. It included an expert panel discussion with Kate Almquist, Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development; David J. Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection & Readiness; Rabih Torbay, Vice President of International Operations at International Medical Corps; and Colonel Peter J. Weina, Deputy  Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Jen Kates, Vice President and Director of Global Health and HIV Policy at the Foundation, moderated.

Report: The U.S. Department of Defense and Global Health

Podcast (Mp3)

Contacts

For further information, please contact Craig Palosky or Tiffany Ford Fields