On April 25, 2018, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense held a public meeting to address Transnational Biological Threats and Global Security.
The biological threats to the Nation increase continuously, recognizing no borders. As emerging and reemerging naturally occurring diseases continue to spread throughout the world, terrorists continue to pursue biological weapons to add to their arsenal, and nation states are establishing new and reinvigorating old offensive biological weapons programs. This meeting of the Study Panel, chaired by former Senator Joe Lieberman and Governor Tom Ridge, provided the Study Panel with a better understanding of:
- Current transnational biological threats;
- Homeland defense and security in the global context;
- Global security efforts to combat these threats;
- International public health security efforts; and
- The need to elevate global health security as a national and global priority
Current and former government officials, academic representatives, and subject matter experts discussed their perspectives, experiences, and challenges in this regard.