ABSTRACT
The concept of human security was an outcome of several significant developments after the end of the Cold War. States and societies were faced with new risks as a result of the structural changes brought on by rapid globalization and their consequences. Poverty and marginalization increased. Ecosystems deteriorated, plagued by the impacts of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation. The chapter examines the significance of human security as a conceptual framework in understanding and one of the most urgent security challenges in recent history – health security. The ascendance of the human security perspective is captured in various UN documents, the most referenced of which are the UN Development Programme’s 1994 Human Development Report on “New Dimensions of Human Security” and the 2003 Commission on Human Security’s report titled Human Security: Protecting and Empowering People. Various demographic changes and development trends, “uneven health transitions”, and emerging epidemiological threats can impact an individual’s vulnerability and exposure to health insecurities.
