**Abbreviations**

*Contemporary Developments and Perspectives in International Health Security - Volume 1*

emergency response system, immediate system response, and simultaneous treatment and transport to formal medical care [99]. It is important to note that there is little evidence that advanced prehospital interventions benefit more than a small subset of the most critically ill or injured. Studies have shown that the majority of cases require treatment within the skill set of responders trained only in basic life support [102]. This has major implications for nations with limited resources, where advanced life support materials and programs may harm a system by diverting precious resources from less glamorous, but more effective measures that benefit a larger number of people. Ultimately, the model chosen for creating and administering an EMS system best suited to a particular demographic will be influenced by regional resources, culture and values, but should always be the result of local and national governments working together toward a common goal of greater health

In an increasingly interconnected world, the potential for threats to international health security such as pandemics, bioterrorism, and radionuclear exposure are of increasing concern. The research and design of medical countermeasures in the form of vaccines, antimicrobials, therapeutics, and diagnostics that address the public health and medical consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events is an area of active research and development. In 2014, the United States in partnership with international organizations and nearly 30 partner countries launched the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to accelerate progress to improve prevention, detection, and response capabilities for public health emergencies [109]. The GHSA calls for improved global access to medical countermeasures and establishes as a target the development of national policy frameworks for sending and receiving medical countermeasures from and to international partners during public health emergencies. International health countermeasures such as vaccines, antidotes, and decontamination supplies are now stockpiled by several countries to protect their own populations and by international organizations such as the WHO for the benefit of the international community (typically those with limited resources). Much work remains, however. During the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, legal, regulatory, logistical, and funding barriers slowed the spread of vaccine and revealed how implementing health security measures on a global scale remains a significant challenge [109]. While imperfect in its implementation, the network established by the GHSA continues to evolve and help combat future threats to international health security. Greater efforts are needed to develop a framework to deploy medical countermeasures internationally, thus increasing

The concept of health security means different things to different people. In developed nations, the concept is that of addressing threats to public health such as the spread of disease and bioterrorism. In developing nations, threats to health also include access to care and modern therapies. In order to address health security on a global scale, government authorities and public health institutions must incorporate access to modern systems of care addressing the major determinants of health and primary causes of mortality into the focus of international health security. In this chapter, we have discussed how organized systems of care stand to improve the

global capacity to respond to public health emergencies.

**58**

**9. Conclusion**

security [108].

**8. Future concerns**

