The new Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy of the US State Department will “elevate” cooperation between Dhaka and Washington, a US government official has told Dhaka Tribune.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy on Tuesday with an aim to “fortify the global health security architecture to effectively prevent, detect, control and respond to infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS.”
Ambassador-at-Large Dr John N Nkengasong will lead the bureau and report directly to Blinken.
“This new Bureau will seamlessly integrate global health security as a core component of US national security and foreign policy, underscoring the Department of State's commitment to advancing human health worldwide,” he said, during the launch.
Health is one of the key areas of cooperation between the US and Bangladesh.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Washington donated more than 100 million doses of vaccines, making the US the largest Covid-19 vaccine donor to Bangladesh.
So, what does the new bureau mean for Bangladesh?
“The United States and Bangladesh already cooperate strongly in many efforts to promote global health. This includes such efforts as improving hygiene and sanitation and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The new State Department Bureau, the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, will only increase our ties and elevate our cooperation,” said a US government official.
The official, who cannot be named, also explained the background of creating the global health security bureau.
In October 2021, Secretary Blinken outlined steps to build a State Department fit for the tasks of the future with his Modernization Agenda.
The agenda included a commitment to build the Department’s capacity and expertise in areas that will be critical to national security in the years ahead, particularly climate, global health, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, economics, and multilateral diplomacy.
“We have advanced this agenda across a few fronts, including launching a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy in April 2022 and the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology in January 2023,” the official explained.
He said: “The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical role that US leadership needs to play on issues of health and health security. Global health security is national security. US leadership is critical to save lives domestically and globally since an infectious disease threat anywhere is a threat everywhere.
“President Biden has been a champion of efforts to strengthen global health security capacity and committed to prioritize global health security and diplomacy at the Department of State,” he continued.
The US official said: “Under Secretary Blinken’s leadership, the Department reviewed how to best harness our collective expertise across the breadth of global health diplomacy and health security, leveraging the Department’s unique leadership role at the nexus of global health and broader foreign and national security policy.
“The secretary recognized that we need a revitalized approach to these issues, building on the recommendations of health and policy experts over many years,” he added.
Blinken worked across the department to create a vision where State Department leadership is better positioned to advance US interests in global health and health security, including preventing, detecting, responding to, and controlling infectious diseases – not just Covid-19 and HIV/AIDS - but also other current and future health threats.
“The Department plays a pivotal role in advancing US policy priorities, including by convening and influencing global stakeholders bilaterally, regionally, and multilaterally,” the US official mentioned.
He said: “State Department leadership is critical to mobilize global political will to take the steps needed to mitigate current and future health threats, build local capacity to stop disease from spreading, and address the political, economic, development, and security challenges that affect global health.
“We also recognize that threats emanate from many directions and require concerted focus across sectors – health, agriculture, development, climate and environment, travel and transport, economics and finance, security, diplomacy, and more,” the US official continued.
He said: “The Department will carry out this work as coordinated by the National Security Council and in collaboration with other US departments and agencies and in alignment with existing authorities such as those outlined under Executive Order (EO) 13747 and 13987, National Security Memorandum (NSM)-1 and NSM-15 and the Global Health Security Strategy.
“We recognize that the Department already has strengths with our leadership on the most successful global health program in history -- PEPFAR. And we have seen how the PEPFAR platform has directly impacted how countries are able to respond,” the official told Dhaka Tribune.
PEPFAR or the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history.