Civil–military collaboration in biomedical research can serve both national security and public health. Examine.

Civil–military collaboration combines civilian research capacity with the armed forces' field experience. The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong (HP) shows how this can work. ICMR is building it with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), and AIIMS Bilaspur will run clinical studies. Its foundation stone was laid in October 2026, and it is meant to serve both soldiers and citizens [1].

Serving national security

• Troop health in hard terrain: research on low oxygen and extreme cold is meant to "directly strengthen medical care for soldiers" through protocols for acclimatisation, early detection and treatment [1].
• Keeping troops supplied: a DIPAS study found that troops above 12,000 ft burn about 4,270 kcal a day. Their special ration scales are based on such findings [2].
• Border regions: the site gives year-round access to people living in a strategically important border region [3].

Serving public health

• Neglected groups: the centre targets tribal communities and treats local people as "partners in research" [1].
• Defence know-how reaching civilians: DIPAS wrote acclimatisation protocols for the Army. It later passed its high-altitude survival technologies to POWERGRID staff working in Ladakh [4].
• Long-term studies: steady access to people living at altitude makes long-term cohort research possible [3].

Concerns

• Duplication: DIPAS already writes protocols for soldiers [4], and the new centre's role has not been separated from it.
• Whose needs come first: short-term soldier needs may push aside lifelong civilian ones such as maternal health, nutrition and chronic disease.
• Last-mile gap: health is a State subject, so filling clinic vacancies is mainly the State's job [5]. A protocol cannot help at a health centre with no doctor.
• Research is not delivery: ICMR already runs tribal health research units, yet the 2018 Expert Committee on Tribal Health still found gaps in primary care and health staff [6].

Way forward

• A DHR–DRDO agreement: DIPAS leads acute protocols for troops, ICMR leads research on resident populations, and the two share data.
• Community members on research advisory bodies, in line with the Expert Committee's call for participation [6].
• Planning delivery with the State from the start: train ASHAs and clinic staff, using National Health Mission support [5].
• Publish the budget, the timeline and a data-consent policy.

Civil–military research can turn security spending into public health gains, and civilian science can strengthen defence in return. With clear mandates, a real community voice and State-led delivery, Keylong can advance SDG-3 while securing the Himalayan frontier.