A Study On American Health Intervention In Southeast Asia During The Cold War

Health was considered an important factor of the world’s economic development and social progress,and became a way for a country to achieve its political goals.With the formation of the Cold War pattern of the Far East,the United States began to attach importance of the strategic position of Southeast Asia in resisting and containing the influence of the Soviet Union and communism,viewing Southeast Asia as a “bridgehead”against communism and constantly adjusting its foreign policy of Southeast Asia to include it in the U.S.global strategy.After World War Ⅱ,as the Cold War situation became increasingly tense,the U.S.government gradually used non-traditional means,including health,to compete with the Soviet Union for “hearts and minds” and to enhance the goodwill of Southeast Asian countries and their populations toward the United States.This paper outlines the evolution of U.S.health diplomacy toward Southeast Asia by focusing on U.S.health activities in Southeast Asia during the Cold War,and then explores the characteristics substance,and impact on U.S.health interventions in Southeast Asia.After the outbreak of the Cold War the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was mainly focused on Europe.With the deepening of the Cold War situation in Asia especially the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and the outbreak of the Korean War,U.S.policy makers began to gradually adjust their policies toward Southeast Asia in an attempt to integrate Southeast Asia into the U.S.global strategic system.Under the influence of Cold War ideology,U.S.health intervention in Southeast Asia in the early Cold War period took the form of direct bilateral health assistance and economic aid to Southeast Asian countries as well as participation in Southeast Asian health affairs through international organizations such as the World Health Organization,etc.The focus areas were infectious disease control,including hookworm eradication,malaria and smallpox eradication,and yellow fever prevention and control.During this period health became tool for the United States to contain the Soviet Union and ward off communist influence in Southeast Asia,and a means for U.S.involvement and intervention in Southeast Asian affairs.In the late 1960 s and early 1970 s,U.S.policymakers began to rethink and adjust U.S.foreign aid policy and en acted the Foreign Assistance Act of 1973,which established a“new direction” for foreign aid.After the “New Directions” were established,U.S.health interventions in Southeast Asia focused on areas closely related to human life and survival,such as maternal and child health,nutrition,water and sanitation,and family planning,seeking to directly address the “basic human needs” of the poor.After the mid-1970 s,the international community paid increasing attention to the important role of primary health services in addressing the health problems of developing countries,and in 1978 adopted the Alma-Ata Declaration,which introduced the concept of primary health care.At the same time,the United States has been adjusting its health interventions in Southeast Asia and has applied the “community-based distribution model” to its health activities in Southeast Asia in order to better implement the concept of primary health care.Finally,the paper examines the relationship between disease control and Cold War diplomacy Southeast Asia.By analyzing the evolution and characteristics of U.S.health interventions in Southeast Asia,disease control,the Cold War and U.S.ordered construction in Southeast and U.S.development interventions in the Third World,the paper summarizes the nature of U.S.health interventions in Southeast Asia during Asia the Cold War and their impact on the development process of Southeast Asian developing countries.The essence of the U.S.health intervention Southeast Asia was the The essence of U.S.health intervention in Southeast Asia was to intervene in Southeast Asian affairs through health,intervene in the development and development model Southeast Asia,and attempt to bring Southeast Asian countries together to confront the Soviet Union through health,with the ultimate goal of building and maintaining a U.S.-led international order.