In sadder, yet lighter news...

All you Vermonters: ( Jessica the cow died :( )

War as Public Health issue

Something near and dear to my academic and intellectual interests is public health and infectious disease in particular. As in Afghanistan, it is important to think about the war in Iraq as a public health issue. In fact, there is a movement within the global community to see all war as a public health issue.

Many different public health problems result from war:
-the presence of soldiers leads to increased prostitution and rape, as well as drug use/trade;
-the military goal of preventing the death of soldiers has led to more civilians being killed - in fact, in the past few decades, "more children have died due to the public health consequences of war than soldiers have died in battle." (see: Harvard's Program on Human Security).
-the bombing of infrastructures damages clean water supplies which can lead to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid;
-the redirection of medical community to wartime activities effects infant mortality, disruption of prenatal care, etc.;
-the psychological toll that war and occupation take on a civilian population.

I just wanted to take a moment out of the protests and war rhetoric to reiterate my fundamental belief that, for so many reasons, war is never good.

some references:
-The Human Costs of Military Conflict
-Rethinking Human Security

*And, the World Health Organization's information on Iraq. A very informative and well managed site.