Rehabilitating Health Systems in Post-Conflict Situations

Abstract

Armed conflict is an unfortunately common reality in modern times: more than 50 countries have experienced conflict since 1980. The countries afflicted are disproportionately poor — 15 of the 20 poorest countries in the world had conflict in the last two decades of the twentieth century (World Bank 1998b); and nine of the 10 countries with the highest infant mortality and under-five mortality rates have experienced some form of conflict since 1990 (UNDP 2005). In 2002, countries with a low Human Development Index (HDI) in conflict spent, on average, 3.7 per cent of their GDP on military expenditure, compared with only 2.4 per cent on health (UNDP 2005). By the year 2020, mortality and morbidity from war are expected to represent the eighth largest category of disease burden, worldwide (Krug et al. 2000).