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A
Review on The Most Important Consequences
of Wars and Armed Conflicts
Author
Dr.
Mohsen Rezaeian (PhD, Epidemiologist,
Associate Professor)
Social Medicine Department, Rafsanjan
Medical School, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Tel: +98 391 5234003
Fax: +98 391 5225209
Email: moeygmr2@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract
Among different
forms of violence, collective ones
which include wars and armed conflicts
that occur within or between countries,
are among the most important and simultaneously
the most neglected types of violence.
The chief aim of the present article
therefore is twofold. First it explains
why such important issues are overlooked
by the international communities.
Then it reviews some of the most important
interrelated consequences of these
phenomena in the areas of health,
socio-economics and environment.
Key words
Collective violence, War, Armed conflict,
Health, Socio-economics, Environment.
__________________
Introduction
According to the
World Health Organization (WHO) violence
can be defined as: "The intentional
use of physical force or power, threatened
or actual, against oneself, another
person, or against a group or community,
that either results in or has a high
likelihood of resulting in injury,
death, psychological harm, mal-development
or deprivation"(1).
Evidence suggests
that among different forms of violence,
collective ones, which include wars
and armed conflicts within or between
countries, are among the most important
and simultaneously the most neglected
types of violence(2). WHO defines
these types of violence as: "the
instrumental use of violence by people
who identify themselves as members
of a group - whether this group is
transitory or has a more permanent
identity - against another group or
set of individuals, in order to achieve
political, economic or social objectives"(3).
Based on the WHO's
estimation in the year 2000 nearly
310,000 people died from war-related
injuries(4). However, such mortality
unevenly affected different parts
of the world. According to the statistics,
mortality caused by the wars has been
estimated to be the 11th leading cause
of death in the African Region (AFR)
whilst it has been estimated to be
the 18th leading cause of death in
the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR),
the 34th in both the European Region
(EUR) and South-East Asia Region (SEAR),
the 62nd in the American Region (AMR)
and the 66th in the Western Pacific
Region (WPR)(3).
On the face of
these figures, mortality caused by
war-related injuries should be considered
as one of the most urgent public health
problems especially within the AFR
and EMR(5). The chief aim
of the present article therefore is
twofold. First, it explains why wars
and armed conflicts are overlooked
by the international human communities,
then it reviews some of the most important
interrelated consequences of these
phenomena in the areas of health,
socio-economics and environment. It
should be noted that such basic understandings
might help to determine the true extent
of the wars and armed conflicts. They
might also assist to apply the efficient
procedures to prevent, reduce and
control the devastating impacts of
wars and armed conflicts(5).
Why wars and armed
conflicts are overlooked by the international
communities?
There are a number
of reasons which contribute to the
negligence of wars and armed conflicts
by the international communities(2-4).
In what follows, three noteworthy
reasons are discussed:
The first reason
is related to the place where wars
and armed conflicts occur. As it has
been mentioned earlier, wars and armed
conflicts usually happen within the
developing regions such as AFR and/or
EMR where there are either natural
resources such as oil, diamonds, etc.
and/or non-democratic governments
that distribute wealth and power disproportionately.
Both incentives increase the likelihood
of wars and armed conflicts within
or between countries. However, the
place of occurrence i.e. developing
countries, decreases the likelihood
of proper and timely reactions by
international communities.
The second reason
is that usually and for political
purposes, the number of casualties
is manipulated by both sides of the
conflict. Moreover, due to unsafe
situations it would be impossible
to gather reliable data from the field
during wartime. Therefore, it is extremely
difficult to determine the true magnitude
of wars and armed conflicts in terms
of mortality, morbidity and disability
of both combatants and ordinary people
who are trapped in the crossfire between
two sides of the conflict.
The third and
the final reason is related to the
unavailability of baseline data for
comparison purposes. As mentioned
earlier wars and armed conflicts are
often the matters of concerns within
the developing world. In this part
of the world and under normal circumstances,
vital statistics are not reliably
gathered. As a result, when wars and
armed conflicts erupt, there is usually
no baseline data for assessment. Therefore,
it is extremely difficult to determine
how wars and armed conflicts change
the trend of mortality, disability
and/or morbidity within the involved
communities.
The most important
consequences of wars and armed conflicts
It is possible
to divide the impacts of wars and
armed conflicts into three interrelated
categories, which include health,
socio-economics and environment(6-9).
(Figure 1).
Figure 1. The
most important interrelated consequences
of wars and armed conflicts.
It is worth emphasizing
that as Figure 1 depicts, each category
is closely related to other categories.
For instance, the socio-economic and
environmental consequences of wars
and armed conflicts have indirectly
a great devastating impact on health.
One is able to observe such devastating
consequences in Iraq, where due to
continual under funding, poor physical
infrastructure, shortage and mismanagement
of provisions, lack of up to date
skills and knowledge and staff shortages,
the quality of state health services
is extremely poor(9&10).
1. Health consequences
of wars and armed conflicts
The consequences
of wars and armed conflicts on human
health can be divided into three following
categories: mortality, disability
and morbidity.
1.1. Mortality
The most important
and the most recognized health consequences
of wars and armed conflicts is mortality
due to war-related injuries. Wars
and armed conflicts not only cause
mortality among combatants but also
among people who are caught within
the warring zone. The increased mortality
rates among ordinary people, especially
high risk groups such as infants,
during armed conflicts have been well
documented in Africa(11). In Iraq
two successive surveys, which wee
carried out after March 2003 i.e.
the beginning of the war mainly by
the US and UK led coalition forces,
have shown that until 2006 nearly
655,000 Iraqi people have died due
to air strikes from invading forces
and violence(12&13).
1.2. Disability
After death, disability
is the second most tragic consequence
of wars and armed conflicts in the
area of health. The most important
reason which increased the likelihood
of being disabled either among combatants
or ordinary people, is trauma due
to exposure to explosive material,
especially landmines. However, in
some African countries people are
brutally and deliberately ,disabled
through mutilation by the military
forces(3).
1.3. Morbidity
Morbidity by itself
can be divided into infectious and
non-infectious diseases. Infectious
diseases are usually common during
wartime due to population displacement
and overcrowding within refugee camps,
greater exposure to vectors, inadequate
water supplies and lack of sanitation,
and lack of access to health care
services such as immunization(3).
Non-infectious
diseases which include mental distress,
depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and suicidal behavior
are also common during and after wartime
due to a variety of reasons such as
loss of family members, rape, torture,
eye witnessing death and extreme violence,
etc(3).
2. Socio-economic consequences of
wars and armed conflicts
The socio-economic
consequences of wars and armed conflicts
may consist of interruption and failure
of social systems and services, collapse
of social cohesion and harmony, population
displacement, budget diverting from
social services to military expenditure,
destroying public health infrastructure,
disruption of food supplies, etc(9).
Let us only focus
on diverting budgets from social services
to military expenditure. Evidence
suggest that annually national governments
in several less developed countries
spend $10 to $20 per capita on military
expenditure whilst only $1 per capita
on health-related expenditure. The
United Sates of America also provides
an interesting example for more developed
countries. Whilst among all nations
this country ranks first in military
expenditure it ranks 38th in Infant
mortality rate(14). In
addition, the US 2007 budget proposal
diverted budgets further from programs
for the poorest people, to defense
and homeland security(15).
3. Environmental consequences of wars
and armed conflicts
Environmental
consequences of wars and armed conflicts
could be disastrous. For instance,
before and during the war extra use
of non-renewable fossil fuels occurred
due to military forces movement. Besides,
during any military confrontations,
hazards of toxic and/or radioactive
wastes are released into the environment
and as a result air, soil and both
surface and groundwater are contaminated.
Ignition of more than 600 oil well
fires in Kuwait during 1991 by the
retreating Iraqi troops is just one
example(14).
Conclusion
Wars and armed conflicts are among
the most neglected ongoing problems
within human communities. Due to their
nature it would be extremely difficult
to determine their true impacts on
the areas of health, socio-economics
and environment. Nevertheless, the
scientific communities both in developed
and developing worlds must take responsibility
through collaborative efforts in order
to scrutinize the devastating impacts
of wars and armed conflicts.
The scientific
publishers must also take responsibility
to publish the results of those studies
for the attention of other scientists,
and more importantly, the politicians
and ordinary people. By taking these
steps one might hope that not only
the true extent of the wars and armed
conflicts are determined but also
the efficient procedures are applied
to prevent, reduce or control the
devastating consequences of these
social sicknesses.
Acknowledgement
I
would like to thank Ms Lesley Pocock
the publisher for inviting me to write
the present article.
__________________
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