Pandemics represent one of the greatest global health challenges of the 21st century. The social and economic impacts are massive. Take the SARS and the recent H1N1 influenza epidemic – they destroy livelihoods, cross borders without detection, and can be deadly for humans. Developing countries are the most vulnerable to infectious disease, and the most likely source of pandemic outbreaks. This places a further hardship on those struggling with high levels of poverty, rapidly increasing populations, poor technology and communications, and a lack of health infrastructure.

With a global population just above 6 billion, the World Health Organisation predicts that the next influenza pandemic could result in 2 to 7.4 million deaths globally. The interconnectedness of the world through travel and trade means that we could all be infected and affected – a pandemic influenza will not discriminate between poor and rich. Control of such an outbreak is not possible unless we have a global response. In 2007, civil and military deaths from all global conflicts is estimated at 100,000 to 500,000, compared to 6 million deaths from TB, malaria and HIV combined. The need to prepare poor countries against disease outbreaks is vital for our health security.

How do pandemics strike and spread?

How do we plan against the world’s big diseases?

How do we protect the most vulnerable – the poor?

Venue

Auditorium, State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, South Brisbane, QLD 4101

Date & time

Thursday, 20 May 2010 6:00 PM

Featuring

Dr Mely Caballero-Anthony – Head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Dr Mely Caballero-Anthony is an Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies. She is also the Secretary-General of the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia). Dr Anthony has published extensively on a broad-range of security issues in the Asia Pacific which appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of International Affairs, Asian Survey, Asian Security, Asian Perspective, International Peacekeeping, Pacific Review, Southeast Asian Affairs, and Contemporary Southeast Asia; as well as a number of book chapters on non-traditional security issues, human security, think-tanks and civil society. Dr Anthony has been active in Track II work through her association with the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) and the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) network. She is also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (APCR2P). Prior to joining RSIS, she was a Senior Analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia (1997-2001) and a Research Officer at the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong (1993-1996).
Professor John Mackenzie - Research Associate & Professor of Tropical Infectious Diseases, Australian Biosecurity CRC and Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University Professor John Mackenzie is a scientist with an outstanding international reputation in the field of microbiology and its impacts on public health. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2002 for service to microbiology research, particularly as a leading contributor to the understanding of the genetics, pathogenesis and public health implications of viruses, and to education. He led the World Health Organisation mission into China seeking information on SARS in 2003 and was involved in the global response to Avian Flu in 2004. He is a member of Steering Committee of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network of WHO, and of various international committees concerned with emerging diseases. Professor Mackenzie was a recipient of the Western Australian Premier`s Research Fellowship which aims to attract excellent researchers to WA from overseas or interstate to conduct research that is internationally competitive. His research at Curtin was in the area of mosquito-borne diseases within the Division of Health Sciences. Professor Mackenzie was also Secretary-General of the International Union of Microbiological Societies.
Murray Proctor - Deputy Director General, Program Enabling Division, AusAID & Australian Ambassador, HIV/AIDS Murray Proctor commenced duties as Australian Ambassador, HIV/AIDS on 1 December 2007. With more than 25 years experience in aid and development, Murray is well placed to further cooperation with Australia's regional partners in advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS. He is concurrently Deputy Director General of the Program Enabling Division at Australia's Agency for International Development (AusAID). This Division provides advice to AusAID program areas on sectors such as education, economics, health, infrastructure and rural development. Murray was previously Deputy Director General of AusAID's Asia Division, and before that managed the AusAID Office of Review and Evaluation and Australia's aid program to PNG. He worked from 1999 to 2001 in the World Bank on East Timor reconstruction and public sector reform. He holds degrees in Psychology and Economics from the University of Queensland and Australian National University respectively.

Moderator

Sara Davies – ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Governance and Public Policy
Dr Sara Davies is an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University. Dr Davies is Chief Investigator of an ARC discovery grant titled Containing H5N1: the role of the World Health Organization and East Asian states. She is author of Legitimising Rejection: International Refugee Law in Southeast Asia (Martinus Nijhoff, 2007) and author of The Global Politics of Health (Polity Press, 2010).

Stay tuned for information on speakers.

Forum Partner