Harvard Medical School and NATO

Towards a Comprehensive Response to Health System Strengthening in Crisis-Affected Fragile States

Monday, February 10, 2014
Human security crises, and international responses to them, are a regular feature of the global landscape. Human security crises not only affect the population directly but also threaten the systems upon which the population depends, which include the health system. The weak health systems in fragile states are especially vulnerable to crises that can further weaken or even destroy them, resulting in these states being unable to implement critical health programmes - such as ones addressing infant and maternal mortality - or to respond to threats such as epidemics.