Endemic Disease in Afghanistan: How an Improved Biosecurity Framework Could Alleviate the Threat to U.S. Troops

Abstract

As it is currently structured, Afghanistans biosecurity framework is weak and offers little to no protection to US troops against the threat of either infectious disease outbreaks or a biological weapons attack by terrorists. If fact, the only legitimate biosecurity practice of the Afghanistan government is to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Such responses are debilitated by a devastated infrastructure, harsh and often times impassable landscape, and non-compliance by Afghan citizens.5 As such, US troops (and, indeed, Afghan citizens) are left susceptible to these endemic diseases to a degree beyond their own control. I believe an alternative biosecurity framework could be implemented that would alleviate this threat.6 Because Afghanistan remains a decentralized and tribal society, the crux of this proposal is that biosecurity measures are to be reallocated to the local, tribal level. I will further expound in greater detail on the reasons for this proposal in section four below.