title: [Not Available].
abstract: The International Committee of the Red Cross has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the abuse of water during conflicts. Special consideration must be given to the health of young children and the appalling consequences of water borne diseases for the civilian population, says the ICRC. 'Today's armed conflicts are essentially wars on public health,' says ICRC chief medical officer Dr Remi Russbach. When water supplies are damaged, the risk of cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and dysentery is heightened. For instance, the incidence of water-borne diseases in Iraq, and related deaths, is up to three times higher than before the Gulf War, the ICRC claims. The Red Cross has worked in most of the world's trouble spots, including Iraq where safer water was distributed to Baghdad hospitals in plastic bags.