Pandonesia Pandemics

Influenza Pandemic and its implications to Indonesia’s defense system and national security
1. Background

Traditionally for many years, the concept of security has been narrowly defined and interpreted as the preservation of the state from physical threats, mainly from external ones. Such narrative remains valid in many nations up until today. Following the cold-war era, the rise of more non-traditional threats, such as terrorism, ethnic cleansing, diseases and illegal drugs pose a new challenge to global and national security. These new threats have in some ways required many nations to redefine their perspective on national security. Globalization has also driven the community of nations to recognize the need to reassess the state of
The scale of dangers posed by a pandemic, such as Influenza, as demonstrated by localized outbreaks in the recent years (SARS, bird flu and last but not least, swine flu), has led the United Nations to frame pandemics as a global threat. More and more governments recognize pandemic as a national security issue due to its catastrophic implications. Influenza pandemic, if taken lightly, may well become the highest emergency risks to the global population. In the last century, the US National Homeland Security Council observed several major influenza pandemics2 that have resulted in more than 20 million casualties worldwide. A more detailed history is made available by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services with an even higher estimation of more than 50 million casualties worldwide and many more infected in at least 4 different pandemic cases3 observed (The Spanish Flu in 1918-1919, a flu pandemic in 1957-1958, The HongKong virus pandemic in 1968-1969 and the latest one relates to the Avian Influenza and its strains in
The virus can easily spread during transportation, while it is at the marketplace or during the slaughtering and cooking process. Other related industries also pose the same threats. Feathers used for making shuttlecocks and the processing of chicken manure for fertilizers also exposed the virus to workers and there few controls over these informal industries. It is therefore crucial for all parties involved as well as common citizens to have a proper understanding and demonstrate proper behaviors for handling poultry and responding to diseases caused by it. Challenges remain on how to effectively contain / isolate the disease from spreading beyond an affected zone (village / sub-district) and in effective coordination and communication on the ground between the many agencies coordinating the