Public health and humanitarian interventions: developing the evidence base

Worldwide, millions of people are annually affected by conflict and over $2bn was spent on non-food emergency aid each year between 1991 and 1997.1 Recently, 30 million people were estimated to be internally displaced and 23 million to be refugees (seeking refuge across international borders), the vast majority of whom were fleeing conflict zones.2 More agencies than ever are working in relief activities; over 200 humanitarian agencies responded to the Rwandan genocide and population displacement.3

Populations affected by armed conflict experience severe public health consequences as a result of food insecurity, population displacement, the effects of weapons, and the collapse of basic health services. 4 5 Though most conflicts after the second world war took place in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, since the end of the Cold War and break up of the Soviet Union we have also witnessed conflicts in Europe and the former Soviet Union, notably in Tajikistan, Chechnya, former Yugoslavia, and Nagorno-Karabakh.6 Increasingly, with relatively few exceptions, conflicts are internal rather than waged between states.

This article argues that the evidence base for humanitarian health interventions should be actively developed and explores mechanisms for its promotion.