It appears that the children are taking the brunt of all this fighting.
Caring for the Most Vulnerable Populations Affected by Conflict in the Middle East
By Michael Klosson - Guest contributor | Jul 22, 2015
Imagine your child is bleeding from a severe wound. The hospital lacks the necessary medical equipment to stop it, and you are told that amputation is the only option, but the hospital has no anesthesia. Imagine losing a newborn baby, not for any medical reason, but because a power outage cut off the heat to your child’s incubator. Sadly, these are not infrequent tragedies in a number of Middle Eastern countries. In Syria, as in other areas of conflict across the region, it’s not just bombs, bullets, and shells that are killing and maiming children and others. People are also dying because health systems have collapsed, and they thus lack treatment and preventative care. The destruction of health infrastructure in conjunction with poor sanitation, malnutrition, and displacement has caused a resurgence of communicable diseases. Conflict has also impeded the treatment of chronic diseases, illnesses, and injuries that would otherwise be treatable with very basic medical care. The lack of available care has been especially detrimental to the health of vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.
Save the Children found that by 2014, 60 percent of hospitals and 38 percent of primary health facilities in Syria, for example, had been destroyed. Of the remaining hospitals, only half are able to treat childhood diseases, and the medications and equipment used to treat chronic illnesses are seldom obtainable. It is likely that thousands of children have died from chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, asthma, and kidney failure—simply because of reduced access to treatment and medication.[1] Even without a chronic health problem, a child can still be in danger. As Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard recently remarked, “The leading causes of death for children under five in developing countries are measles, diarrhea, malaria, and respiratory infections. In wars and emergencies, children succumb to the same preventable diseases. But in countries torn by conflict they are more likely to get sick and more likely to die.”[2] Furthermore, the chronic stress experienced by children living in conflict situations takes a toll on their mental health and education, which will have an impact on their future development and economic opportunities. This threatens to create a lost generation that will grow up much more likely to suffer from mental illness and display aggressive behavior. These children are losing valuable years of their education because it is not safe enough to go to school or because they are too stressed to learn.
Continue reading at:
Caring for the Most Vulnerable Populations Affected by Conflict in the Middle East Middle East Institute?
Caring for the Most Vulnerable Populations Affected by Conflict in the Middle East
By Michael Klosson - Guest contributor | Jul 22, 2015
Imagine your child is bleeding from a severe wound. The hospital lacks the necessary medical equipment to stop it, and you are told that amputation is the only option, but the hospital has no anesthesia. Imagine losing a newborn baby, not for any medical reason, but because a power outage cut off the heat to your child’s incubator. Sadly, these are not infrequent tragedies in a number of Middle Eastern countries. In Syria, as in other areas of conflict across the region, it’s not just bombs, bullets, and shells that are killing and maiming children and others. People are also dying because health systems have collapsed, and they thus lack treatment and preventative care. The destruction of health infrastructure in conjunction with poor sanitation, malnutrition, and displacement has caused a resurgence of communicable diseases. Conflict has also impeded the treatment of chronic diseases, illnesses, and injuries that would otherwise be treatable with very basic medical care. The lack of available care has been especially detrimental to the health of vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.
Save the Children found that by 2014, 60 percent of hospitals and 38 percent of primary health facilities in Syria, for example, had been destroyed. Of the remaining hospitals, only half are able to treat childhood diseases, and the medications and equipment used to treat chronic illnesses are seldom obtainable. It is likely that thousands of children have died from chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, asthma, and kidney failure—simply because of reduced access to treatment and medication.[1] Even without a chronic health problem, a child can still be in danger. As Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard recently remarked, “The leading causes of death for children under five in developing countries are measles, diarrhea, malaria, and respiratory infections. In wars and emergencies, children succumb to the same preventable diseases. But in countries torn by conflict they are more likely to get sick and more likely to die.”[2] Furthermore, the chronic stress experienced by children living in conflict situations takes a toll on their mental health and education, which will have an impact on their future development and economic opportunities. This threatens to create a lost generation that will grow up much more likely to suffer from mental illness and display aggressive behavior. These children are losing valuable years of their education because it is not safe enough to go to school or because they are too stressed to learn.
Continue reading at:
Caring for the Most Vulnerable Populations Affected by Conflict in the Middle East Middle East Institute?
