Global public health
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Global public health · Jan 2011
Battles on women's bodies: war, rape and traumatisation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rape has been used as a weapon in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in unprecedented ways. Research into the phenomenon of war-rape is limited, particularly in this context. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of local leaders in eastern DRC concerning rape and raped women in the war context. ⋯ Furthermore, an exclusive focus on raped women missed the extent of traumatisation entire communities suffered. More significantly, the lack of political will, corruption, greed and inappropriate aid creates a tangled web serving to intensify the war. This complexity has implications for humanitarian interventions including public health.
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Global public health · Jan 2011
Promoting emergency medical care systems in the developing world: weighing the costs.
Despite the global health community's historical focus on providing basic, cost-effective primary health care delivered at the community level, recent trends in the developing world show increasing demand for the implementation of emergency care infrastructures, such as prehospital care systems and emergency departments, as well as specialised training programmes. However, the question remains whether, in a setting of limited global health care resources, it is logical to divert these already-sparse resources into the development of emergency care frameworks. ⋯ Crucial to the success of any public health or policy intervention, emergency care systems also seem to be strongly desired at the community and governmental levels. Integrating emergency care into existing health care systems will ideally rely on modest, low-cost steps to augment current models of primary health care delivery, focusing on adapting the lessons learned in the developed world to the unique needs and local variability of the rest of the globe.