Civil Conflict and the Spread of Disease

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Melanie Ferrell POL 202- Dr. Dixon November 26, 2013 Civil Conflict and the Spread of Disease Introduction Civil conflict often dredges up images of horrible violence from one set of human beings against another. The words evoke thoughts of horrible atrocities such as the hacking by machete and awful mutilation of the Tutsi people by the Hutus in Rwanda or the merciless killing of innocents by the Janjaweed in Darfur just a few years ago. Another major factor within these conflicts is the spread of disease. Disease has often been used as a weapon by various armed factions in conflict, but it spreads just as easily naturally. This paper will explain how the spread of disease in civil conflict ridden areas is a result of the spread of refugees and travelers, the presence of terrorism in conflict areas which prevent proper aid to victims, and infected abandoned or wild animals that are ingested by starving peoples within a country. Background In order to understand how disease could spread through areas of conflict in the first place, the start of conflict and the mechanisms of the spread of disease must be understood. There are multiple reasons why conflict starts and various occurrences throughout history in which to reference. The majority of conflicts are found in areas with high levels of poverty and low levels of political stability. Antonio Ciccone did a study comparing the amount of rainfall in Sub-Saharan Africa to the number of civil conflicts in the area over a 26 year period. He found that “2/3 of civil conflicts started in the 10 years with lowest rainfall”. Periods of low rainfall lowered crop yields which affected the economy and increased the number of poor citizens in an area. This gives rise to tensions between the people and government of a country. Political instability appears to cause economic developmental problems but economic

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