Ethical Challenges for Military Health Care Personnel ― Dealing With Epidemics

Ethical challenges during epidemics is of high topical interest given the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Western Africa and the likelihood of similar events in the future. The topic of epidemics ad infectious diseases tends to take a more general perspective in current literature. This volume builds on this research and further takes into account the specifics of a military context since military actors are always involved in a decisive manner during disasters and large scale public health emergencies. This book collates a range of experiences from pre-deployment training and recent deployments in Ebola affected countries from those that have been involved with either or both themselves. Providing enlightening case studies on recent deployments and philosophical arguments about the duties of military doctors or the duty to care, this study offers a rich theoretical reflection combined with recent experiences from military and NGO missions in the field.

Daniel Messelken is Research Associate at the at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he leads the Zurich Center for Military Medical Ethics.

David Winkler is Chairman of the ICMM (International Committee of Military Medicine) Centre of Reference for Education on International Humanitarian Law and Ethics, Switzerland.