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The Australian Civil-Military Centre has released Considerations for Civil-Military Interactions During Public Health Emergencies.
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The publication provides operational guidance to strengthen civil-military coordination in preparing for, and responding to, future pandemics or public health emergencies – both domestically and overseas.
During its development, the Australian Civil-Military Centre (ACMC) engaged stakeholders from Australia, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, drawing on their experiences in these types of situations.
“The severity and complexity of crises is increasing. We are also seeing concurrent events, as Australia experienced in 2020, with major bushfires, widespread flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic,” ACMC executive director Nicola Rosenblum said.
“Now, more than ever, we need to strengthen coordination and collaboration between civil and humanitarian agencies and military organisations.”
The publication was launched by Lieutenant General (Ret’d) John Frewen at the International Committee of Military Medicine Conference in Brisbane.
Frewen led Defence’s COVID-19 taskforce and was the coordinator-general of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
The ACMC was established in 2008 to assist Australian government agencies prepare for, prevent, and respond more effectively to conflicts and disasters overseas.
Recent responses to public health emergencies including outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 as well as information regarding how domestic and foreign militaries routinely become involved in these responses. This is observed alongside the broader militarisation of domestic disaster response, and more generally, the use of military capabilities in non-traditional roles.
The document aims to facilitate safe, principled, and pragmatic civil-military interaction in public health emergencies.
The new publication is available at: https://acmc.gov.au/resources/publications
