Framing the issueimpacts of smallarms on health.

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Framing the issue-impacts of smallarms on health.

• Ime A. John MD,MPH

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Global epidemic

• WHO-Burden of diseases.Mortality from violence.
  SALWs fuel Wars Sectarian conflicts.
• Difficulties at data collection from SALWs
• 6 of burden of disease
• In 2000 mortality war contributed 502,000 out of
  a poll of 1, 851,000 deaths
• Over 205,000 killed by gun injuries since Jan
  2006-IANSA

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Global epidemic-cont

• 639 million small arms and light weapons are in
  circulation worldwide
• Of 49 major conflicts in the 1990s, 47 were waged
  with small arms as the weapons of choice
• Annual global trade in SALW is estimated at 4
  billion dollars

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Impacts

• Direct and indirect
• DIRECT
• Short term
• Long term

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Short term

• Immediate Injuries Fatalities
• Violence induced displacements
• Destruction of Properties and infrastructures
  including healthcare

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Short term

• Immediate Injuries Fatalities
• D R Congo 2.5-3.3mil
• Rwanda 750,000-1.0mil
• Angola 1.5mil
• Liberia 250,000
• Sudan 1.5mil Darfur CDR 1.5-2.9/10000
• Nigeria 100,000 (1999-2003)
• Iraq. current war 41,000-45,000
• Israeli-Hizbollah

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Violence induced Displacement

• Globally, 21.8million, forced migrants and Asylum
  Seekers 17.0million (UNHCR 2004)
• Approx. 5million from Africa
• 1.8million in Congo DR
• 1,169,693 Darfur. 3,000 to 4,000 in Zam Zam

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Displaced members of Heman ethnic group taking
refuge in a Roman Catholic mission in Diodio, N.E
Congo DR 10/4/03AP Photo/Sayyid Azim
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Refugee camp

• acute watery diarrhoea
• acute respiratory infections
• malaria
• measles
• meningitis
• acute jaundice syndrome
• acute flaccid paralysis
• bloody diarrhea
• neonatal tetanus
• fever of unknown origin (PUO)
• severe malnutrition

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Destruction of Properties and infrastructures
including healthcare

• Buildings
• Bridges and roads
• Hospitals
• ..attacks on ambulances and sniper fire at
  children as well as the aerial bombardment of
  residential areas Hamit Dardagan,Principal
  Researcher, IBC
• Impediment to Development-
• Diverts health care resources from disease
  control, health and nutrition education
• Scares away investment,

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Compromise in Maternal Child Health

• The possibility of outbreaks of communicable
  diseases is particularly elevated due to limited
  amounts of potable water, low standards of
  environmental hygiene, declining nutritional
  status, and low vaccination coverage. WHO 2004
• BMJ 2004 329592 (11 September), doi
  10.1136/bmj.329.7466.592-a

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Long Term

• Disabilities from injuries Long hospitalization
  Head brain damage, orthopaedic
  complications-amputations deaths
• Mental Health-Post traumatic stress syndrome,
  Xenophobia
• Medico-social consequences Distortion in
  community customary cohesion as seen in forced
  migration. Forced adaptation

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Disabilities from injuries

• Long hospitalization
• 2.3/1000 were permanently
• disabled from the Afghanistan
• war.
• Armless Ali up Rt
• Congolese Refugee-Below Rt
• 7yr old Iraqi Girl who lost an eye from UXO
• Lt Leg Amputee Afghan Child-Below Lt

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Medico-social consequences

• Distortion in community customary cohesion as
  seen in forced migration. Forced adaptation
• Liberians in Nigeria, Ghana
• Congolese in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda
• Iraqis, Afghanistan, Former Yugoslavs in Europe

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Mental Health

• PTSD-Torture of POW, Abu Ghraib
• Xenophobia
• Rt- A Taliban POW tortured

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• SALWs
• Violence (Interpersonal Collective)
• Conflict and War

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• If the war against Iraq Comes Who will take
  responsibility for five hundred thousand
  injured?--- Gunnar Westberg
• Lakartidningen 2003 Feb 13100(7)502-3