Changing therapeutic geographies of the Iraqi and Syrian wars.
The health consequences of the ongoing US-led war on terror and civil armed conflicts in the Arab world are much more than the collateral damage inflicted on civilians, infrastructure, environment, and health systems. Protracted war and armed conflicts have displaced populations and led to lasting transformations in health and health care. In this report, we analyse the effects of conflicts in Iraq and Syria to show how wars and conflicts have resulted in both the militarisation and regionalisation of health care, conditions that complicate the rebuilding of previously robust national health-care systems. Moreover, we show how historical and transnational frameworks can be used to show the long-term consequences of war and conflict on health and health care. We introduce the concept of therapeutic geographies--defined as the geographic reorganisation of health care within and across borders under conditions of war.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: oa02@aub.edu.lb.
Omar
O
Dewachi
Department of Anthropology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Mac
M
Skelton
School of Public Health, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Vinh-Kim
VK
Nguyen
Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies Aleppo, Syria; Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Fouad M
FM
Fouad
Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
Ghassan Abu
GA
Sitta
Department of Architecture and Design, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Zeina
Z
Maasri
Institute of Community Health, Birzeit University, Ramallah, West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory.
Rita
R
Giacaman
D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062306:Geography, Medical; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008887:Military Medicine; D011057:Politics; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013593:Syria; D014504:Urban Health; D014857:Warfare; D064450:Workplace Violence