For example, without even considering civilians, the official number of fatalities among US armed forces in the current Iraq War exceeds 4,200, whereas injuries as of February 2009 exceed 30,0006 (although some estimates indicate the number of injured may be as high as 60,000). 5Īlthough morbidity resulting from war and conflict is perhaps even more difficult to quantify than mortality, clearly the number of injuries dwarfs the number of deaths. 2 By comparison, approximately 19 million people died of AIDS between 19.3 In 2006, tuberculosis caused fewer than 2 million deaths,4 and malaria caused fewer than 1 million deaths. 1,2 Some researchers claim additional deaths resulting from genocide, forced enslavement, famines, and other events associated with war and conflict could bring the total to approximately 231 million for the entire century. Estimates of deaths secondary to armed conflict in the 20th century range from 110 million to 149 million (an average of about 1 million to 1.5 million deaths per year). War has profound public health consequences, and it is an entirely preventable source of some the world’s worst public health catastrophes.ĭeath and disability from violent confrontations are the most apparent and direct effects of war, although they are not always accurately measured. Practitioners, educators, and other workers in public health can play powerful roles in preventing war itself, as well as mitigating the public health consequences of war. We who have committed our careers to promoting public health need to change our framework to encompass war as 1 of the most significant threats to the health of people in every demographic group and in every country. This paper provides the scientific basis and justification for an acknowledgment that war has been among the most important public health problems of the last 100 years, and there is little evidence its importance is waning. This position paper addresses the role of public health practitioners, academics, and advocates in response to war and armed conflict.
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