Ensuring Public Health Neutrality

In response to events in Pakistan that led to the deaths of eight vaccination workers and the suspension of polio-eradication efforts, deans of U.S. public health schools advocate refraining from disguising military or intelligence actions as public health activities. In June 1968, a clearly marked...

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Published inThe New England journal of medicine Vol. 368; no. 12; pp. 1073 - 1075
Main Authors Roberts, Les F, VanRooyen, Michael J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Massachusetts Medical Society 21.03.2013
Subjects
Altruism
Codes of Ethics
Humanitarian aid
Humans
Immunization Programs
Intelligence
International Agencies
International Cooperation
Pakistan
Poliomyelitis - prevention & control
Public Health
Public Policy
Red Cross
Security Measures
United States
Vaccination
Warfare
Workers
United States
Pakistan
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Summary:In response to events in Pakistan that led to the deaths of eight vaccination workers and the suspension of polio-eradication efforts, deans of U.S. public health schools advocate refraining from disguising military or intelligence actions as public health activities. In June 1968, a clearly marked Swedish Red Cross plane flying relief supplies into the breakaway state of Biafra was shot down by Nigerian fighters. 1 Before the war was over, many relief planes would be shot down and far more would crash because the Nigerian government's shoot-to-kill order forced them to fly at night. The brazen targeting of Red Cross relief flights on civilian humanitarian missions was hard to imagine. In the minds of some people, however, these attacks were justified by another clear violation of humanitarian neutrality: on at least one occasion, a plane painted with the Red Cross insignia . . .
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ISSN:0028-4793
1533-4406
DOI:10.1056/NEJMp1300197