Food Is Security: The Nexus of Health Security in Fragile and Failed States

John Quinn¹, Tomas Zeleny^2,3, Vladimir Bencko³

¹Prague Center for Global Health, Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
²Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
³Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.

DOI: 10.4236/fns.2014.519197                

Abstract

Global food security is a major development challenge dictated by state stability, resilience to geopolitical and economic shocks and is linked to health security. Fragile and failed nation-states are at risk of extreme poverty and lead to war and conflict. Fragile states experience, corrupt financial regimes and are influenced by skewed global market systems and reduced equitable market access that decrease food and health security. This qualitative review describes the critical cross sections of food security, the influence of global market systems and state stability and institutions that form the nexus of global health security. We outline how the manipulation of free market systems and decreased state capacity not only decrease food and health security but also contribute to state fragility and failure. Improved public health policy mechanisms, decreased dependence on foreign financial structures and extractive mechanisms are crucial to improving food and health security at present, and to further increase state stability in the future.

Keywords

Food Security, Health Security, Human Security, Malnourishment, Starvation, Food Economics

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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