This event is co-sponsored by the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN).

Abstract: The catastrophic outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa has cast a harsh light on the intense interaction between health and security.  This interaction was underscored when responsibility for addressing the epidemic was shifted from the health authorities to the Army.  This seminar will discuss the political context of both emergent and long-persistent health threats in areas of poor governance and political instability.  Of special concern is the extent to which the political forces shaping the Ebola outbreak and the weak global response reflect deeper political and security relationships that affect virtually all arenas of health, including child survival and HIV.   In this manner, this seminar will extend the traditional medical understanding of humanitarian crises to address questions of human security, the provision of essential public goods, and social justice.

About the Speaker: Dr. Wise is the Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society and Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine.  Dr. Wise is also a Senior Fellow in the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and the Center for International Security and Cooperation, in the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. He is also co-Director of the March of Dimes Center for Prematurity Research at Stanford University.

Dr. Wise received his A.B. degree summa cum laude in Latin American Studies and his M.D. degree from Cornell University, a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and did his pediatric training at the Children’s Hospital in Boston.  His former positions include Director of Emergency and Primary Care Services at Boston Children’s Hospital, Director of the Harvard Institute for Reproductive and Child Health, and Vice-Chief of the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  He served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Surgeon General, Chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research, and currently is a member of the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH. 

Dr. Wise’s research focuses on health inequalities, child health policy, and global child health.   He leads a multidisciplinary initiative, Children in Crisis, which is directed at integrating expertise in political science, security, and health services in areas of civil conflict and unstable governance.