War prevention and mitigation are public health imperatives of our time

Abstract

War has devastating immediate, long-term, and intergenerational-term impacts on health. Civilians, especially those who are internally displaced, disabled, living in poverty, children, and refugees bear the resulting disproportionate harm. The report ‘health in conflict settings’1 documents that 60% of chronically food-insecure and malnourished people globally, including 75% of all children with stunted growth, live in conflict-affected countries. Sub-Saharan Africa2,3 and the Middle East3 bear most of this burden, though other regions are not exempt.