01 Mar '13 03:40>
"A fake vaccination program reportedly orchestrated by the CIA in Abbottabad, Pakistan, may have helped the United States gather information about the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011. But it also breached a principle of global health, that the workers who provide relief in the form of food, water, or vaccines against preventable illnesses such as polio, operate outside the realm of politics and national interests to meet basic human needs."
"Following the raid, Pakistan officials forced out workers from an aid organization that had been operating in the country for decades. Since December, at least 11 polio vaccination workers have been killed there in a series of attacks..."
http://www.boston.com/whitecoatnotes/2013/02/28/boston-physician-cia-vaccination-scheme-pakistan-undermined-global-public-health-efforts/SQqRWEpaCa17VcpptMZWHO/story.html#
Any thoughts on how to weight the benefits and drawbacks - and the long term implications - in a case like this?
"Following the raid, Pakistan officials forced out workers from an aid organization that had been operating in the country for decades. Since December, at least 11 polio vaccination workers have been killed there in a series of attacks..."
http://www.boston.com/whitecoatnotes/2013/02/28/boston-physician-cia-vaccination-scheme-pakistan-undermined-global-public-health-efforts/SQqRWEpaCa17VcpptMZWHO/story.html#
"Although some U.S. policymakers consider immediate national security concerns a higher priority than long-term global health efforts, the CIA’s false vaccination campaign in Pakistan may cause collateral damage with profound long-term implications for national security. If every aid worker with a syringe is suspected of being a spy, the children, families, and communities of the world will no longer have protection against our greatest killers. Ultimately, if the neutrality of public health efforts is undermined, the world will become a more violent and unhealthy place."
Any thoughts on how to weight the benefits and drawbacks - and the long term implications - in a case like this?