War and Public Health in Africa

Catalog description

An inquiry into the nature of contemporary war in sub-Saharan Africa and its human cost. Uses public health as a parameter to assess the impact of organized collective violence on people's lives. Link between war and public health established and measured with respect to civilian deaths, gender based violence, physical and psychological trauma, mental disorders, malnutrition and famine, and the spread of epidemic diseases, inter alia HIV/AIDS. Special attention is paid to rape as 'a weapon of war', to the trafficking of human beings in war zones, the child soldier phenomenon, and to death counts as a vector of humanitarian or political advocacy.