Conflict and Health

The increase in civil (intrastate) conflicts across the world has resulted in unprecedented numbers of people displaced from their homes, injured and unsupported as infrastructure around them is destroyed. Meeting the health needs of these populations involves improvising health care in the face of the flight of health care personnel and the destruction of local health services, humanitarian assistance provided by local and international organisations, and the care of refugees in neighbouring countries. Health needs include acute care of the injured, medication and follow up for chronic disease, the treatment and prevention of communicable diseases and vaccination, and the delivery of essential health services for women and children.