The reason everyone should be concerned about the Russia–Ukraine war is that the conflict poses significant potential threats to global health systems.
One major concern is that some biological laboratories, particularly those located in Ukraine, could be vulnerable to compromise as the war continues.
For instance, on June 12 this year, the New York Post published an article titled, "Outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard Releases Declassified Info on 120 Foreign Biolabs."
The report stated that Tulsi Gabbard accused the Biden administration of misleading the American public about the existence of more than 120 biological laboratories in over 30 countries and the extent of U.S. taxpayers' money being used to support these facilities.
According to the article, four of the labs had a total cost to taxpayers of more than US$9 million.
Of this, around one-third of the biolabs, about 40, are located in Ukraine, putting them at risk of “compromise” due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
According to the New York Post, pathogens with the potential to be used as biological weapons had been stored in some of the labs since the Soviet era, with the US working in tandem with Ukrainian scientists to contain any risks.
The pathogens included “Anthrax, tularemia, tuberculosis, Swine Fever, Newcastle's Disease, MERS, SARS, Marburg, Ebola, Lassa, the Plague, Rickettsia”, and others, per the files.
The article further quoted the Director of the National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of having said: “Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth.”
The report again quoted Gabbard as having noted that “ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are and what pathogens they contain, to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and well-being of the American people and people around the world.”
The New York Post first reported on the issue last month, noting that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had sought transparency as part of an effort to eliminate possibly dangerous experiments with pathogens that had the potential to explode into pandemics.
Interestingly, some of these laboratories are also located in African countries, including parts of Central, Eastern, and West Africa, where varying forms of U.S. military and medical research cooperation exist.
These arrangements raise concerns in some policy and public discourse about the safety and regulatory oversight of the host countries where such facilities operate.
In Africa, for example, Kenya hosts one of the longest-established U.S. military medical research facilities, the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit–Kenya (USAMRU-K), based in Nairobi and operating since 1973.
Several other African countries, particularly in West Africa, also host U.S.-funded or affiliated medical and public health research initiatives.
In recent years, there have also been reports that the United States sought access to certain medical data from some African countries, including Ghana, although such requests were declined.
While international medical research collaborations can generate important public health benefits, they also raise questions about biosecurity, ethical governance, and the protection of host countries from potential risks associated with research involving hazardous pathogens.
For this reason, the impacts of the Russia–Ukraine war should not be viewed solely in terms of economic consequences such as food and fuel insecurity but also in relation to its broader implications for global health outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, demonstrated how catastrophic global pandemics can be for health systems worldwide, given the research on dangerous pathogens conducted in biolabs.
