key: cord-0847998-wh0aavmd authors: Gebregziabher, Mulugeta; DeLargy, Pamela; Jumaan, Aisha; Kapila, Mukesh; Rubenstein, Leonard title: War prevention and mitigation are public health imperatives of our time date: 2022-04-14 journal: EClinicalMedicine DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101385 sha: 2a8b8ac8535f047433a3022662c5c507190d28c7 doc_id: 847998 cord_uid: wh0aavmd nan humanitarian crisis to the Tigray region. A United Nations World Food Program 6 report shows that 'almost 40% of Tigrayans are suffering from an extreme lack of food, 7 after 15 months of conflict.' More than 80% of hospitals and health facilities in Tigray have been looted and destroyed. Only 40 of 268 pre-war ambulances remain. At least 22 humanitarian aid and health workers have been killed; only 1300 of the more than 20,000 health care workers prior to the war in Tigray are reporting to their duties. 8 An estimated at least 20,000 women and young girls have been raped by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces. Meanwhile, the Government deliberately blocked humanitarian aid that aimed to feed and provide life-saving services to the millions affected. In Yemen, as a result of indiscriminate bombing and port blockades by Saudi Arabia led Coalition and attacks on health facilities by Ansar-Allah rebels and other warring parties, the health system has all but collapsed. Well over 50 hospitals were hit by airstrikes. As of December 2021, fewer than half of Yemen's health facilities were functioning, even as COVID-19 continued to spread; those that remained open lacked qualified staff, basic medication, and medical equipment and essential supplies. 9 Health professional groups have begun to recognize that it is essential to push for policies that contributes to the prevention of the public health crisis of war 10 and to mitigate it's impacts, as stated by the World Medical Association in the document "Regulations in times of armed conflict and other situations of violence, published in 2017. The time is overdue for health professional associations and schools of public health, medicine, nursing and others to recognize and prioritize war prevention and mitigations as essential to health education and practice. We therefore call on the health community to: 3. Advocate for the full protection of health care personnel who are subject to violence and arrest and for the protection of health facilities during conflict. 4 . Conduct research that promotes prevention of conflict and contributes towards building of resilient health facilities and supporting infrastructure in conflict prone areas. 5. Demand accountability and justice for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian laws. 6. Encourage medical and health associations and health policy makers to include war as a priority agenda. 7. Push for public health, nursing and, medical schools to include peace building policies and practices in preservice curriculum. Together, we can elevate the effects of war as a priority public health issue and shift to a more humane approach to political conflicts to preserve human rights, health and wellbeing. The conceptualization was made by Mulugeta Gebregziabher, while the drafting, editing and final approval was made by Mulugeta Gebregziabher and his coauthors, Leonard Rubenstein, Pamela DeLargy, and Mukesh Kapila, and Aisha Jumaan. All the co-signers have edited and approved of the article though we could not include them as co-authors. All authors and co-signers approved the article. None Conflict Settings: Leaving No One Behind Less armed conflict but more political violence in Africa The armed conflict survey 2021: the long aftermath of armed conflicts Business as usual? Arms sales of SIPRI Top 100 arms companies continue to grow amid pandemics Perilous Medicine-The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War. Columbia University Press Severe hunger tightens grip in Northern Ethiopia Saving children from man-made acute malnutrition in Tigray, Ethiopia: a call to action The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: an assessment World Health Organization, Yemen crisis overview The role of public health practitioners, academics, and advocates in relation to armed conflict and war We would like to acknowledge Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University, Evelyn Cherow, MA, MPA,