The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, …
The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, …
The 2 year old boy who died in December 2013 in Gueckedou, Guinea, is considered the index case of the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by the Zaire species. Up until 2014, the disease was limited to rural areas of east and central Africa, but it has now …
Within Japan, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima is understood as a national experience that sets the country apart from nations that have been spared such devastation. A special phrase the Japanese use to describe their country is yuitsu hibaku kokka, ‘the only country that has experienced atomic bombing’. This phrase …
Children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict are at high risk of developing mental health problems. To date, a range of psychosocial approaches and clinical/psychiatric interventions has been used to address mental health needs in these groups.
“One person alone cannot push an elephant, but many together can,” Rose Mapendo tells Congolese women. She is the lead character in the documentary Pushing the Elephant, which premiered in New York as part of the Human Rights Watch Inter national Film Festival in June. Mapendo’s husband was killed in …
A Cambodian group has developed a pioneering community-based approach to HIV and TB care and research. Amy Maxmen describes how this powerful model is being expanded to other war-torn countries.
Recent studies have linked climatic and social instabilities in ancient China; the underlying causal mechanisms have, however, often not been quantitatively assessed. Here, using historical records and palaeoclimatic reconstructions during AD 10
In a recent paper, we documented strong historical linkages between temperature and civil conflict in Africa. Sutton et al. raise two concerns with our findings: that the relationship between temperature and war is based on common trends and is therefore spurious, and that our model appears overly sensitive to small …
The potential relationship between climate change and conflict is intriguing and warrants rigorous study. However, the proposition by Burke et al. that warming may be a directly causative factor in the risk of civil war in Sub-Saharan Africa seems unlikely. The analysis of Burke et al. (1) suggests instead a …
What do US soldiers deployed in Iraq face? Severe mental problems. The dominant one is ptsd. It leads to depression, manic depression, paranoia and other mental health imbalances. The most specific survey I have come across was conducted by the non-profit research institute rand Corporation. Though a bit dated the …
This publication, which highlights success stories and lessons learned, is aimed at a wide audience. The intent is to further raise awareness of the devastation that an environmental emergency can cause, and to promote advocacy and action in response. It also aims to highlight the strong need to integrate humanitarian …
An Associate Laureate of the 2004 Rolex Awards, Jo Thompson was selected for her pioneering efforts to save the bonobo, an endangered ape that dwells only in the Congo Basin region of Africa. During the Congo's war years (1998-2002), Thompson's wildlife project maintainted an active presence within the country. In …
Armed conflict within nations has had disastrous humanitarian consequences throughout much of the world. Here we undertake the first comprehensive examination of the potential impact of global climate change on armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. We find strong historical linkages between civil war and temperature in Africa, with warmer years …
Despite the protection afforded by several important legal instruments, the environment continues to be the silent victim of armed conflicts worldwide. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has conducted over twenty post-conflict assessments since 1999, using state-of-the-art science to determine the environmental impacts of war. From Kosovo to Afghanistan, Sudan …
The former Liberian President Charles Taylor ordered militias to eat the flesh of their enemies, a former death squad leader has told during his war crimes trial. Joseph "Zigzag' Marzah said Taylor had instructed his fighters in Liberia to eat un peacekeepers to "set an example for the people to …
power of the big Banana: A court of appeals in the Philippines recently sided with the banana growers and exporters of the country and allowed the continuation of aerial spraying of pesticides. The city government of Davao had banned aerial spraying of pesticides saying aerial spraying of toxic chemicals harms …
The bruising treatment of youngsters in many parts of the world, and the use of child soldiers in war-torn parts of Africa emerged as a recurring theme at the 10-day Berlin International Film Festival that concluded on February 17. War Child, a documentary by first-time German director Christian Karim Chrobog …
The government of Somalia has appealed for an "urgent international help' for people in drought-affected regions of the country saying that the "transitional federal government cannot address the problem alone'. The drought has affected central and southern Somalia, with regions of Hiiraan, Galgadud, Mudug, Bay, Bakol and Gedo being the …
Information is at a premium in Sri Lanka, especially authentic news, fast and quick. With the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte) waging full-blown battles in the country's north and the rest of the country beset with fear of unprovoked attacks, Sri Lankans are turning increasingly to …
To avoid a possible regional war over water resources, Iraq has asked neighbouring countries for a treaty to share the Tigris and Euphrates river waters. The two rivers originate in Turkey, with Euphrates first flowing through Syria while the Tigris flows straight into Iraq. The two rivers converge in Iraq …
