Refugees and displaced persons. War, hunger, and public health

Causes and health consequences of environmental degradation and social injustice

“…He wrote: ''Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.'' Today, 3 h of world arms spending is equal to the annual World Health Organization budget; one-half day of world arms spending would provide full immunizations for all the world's children; 3 days of US military spending is equivalent to the amount our country spends on health, education and welfare programs for children in 1 year; and, 3 weeks of world arms spending per year could provide primary health care for all individuals in poor countries, including safe water and full immunizations (Sidel, 1999;Toole & Waldman, 1993;Ris, 1998). Even though just 20 terrorists armed with box cutters destroyed the World Trade Center towers and a portion of the Pentagon on September 11 2001, the US remains committed to a so-called missile defense shield, despite spectacular test failures, the objections of numerous scientists, and a price tag that could ultimately reach $100 billion.…”

The Public Health Aspects of Complex Emergencies and Refugee Situations

“…In other large refugee populations (e.g. Somalis in Ethiopia in 1989; Iraqis in Turkey in 1991; Rwandans in Zaire and Tanzania in 1994), measles outbreaks did not occur probably because immunization coverage rates were already high in the countries of origin of the refugees ( 42,20). Since 1990, high measles-associated death rates have been reported more commonly in internally displaced populations (e.g.…”

Security, insecurity and health

“…Investigation and publication of the health impact of people's insecurity using a variety of general health indicators constitute critical elements of the creation of proposals for how to improve people's security. There are many examples of such proposals, including those relating to injuries from anti-Special theme -Health and foreign policy Security, insecurity and health Robin Coupland personnel landmines, 12 civilian deaths and injuries from cluster bombs, 13 the impact on civilians of the availability of small arms, 14 weapons' injuries following departures of peace-keepers, 15 mortality among people displaced by conflict, 16 the impact on civilians of the 1999 conflict in Kosovo, 17 massacres, 18 the prevalence of war-related sexual violence in Sierra Leone, 19 violence and mortality in Darfur, Sudan, 20 and the number of people killed in Iraq since 2003. 21 These and many more studies show that credible data can be gathered under difficult conditions.…”