About this Research Topic
Humanitarian crises, such as armed conflicts, forced displacements, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters not only take a heavy toll on human health but also devastate health systems. More than 191 million people lost their lives in the 20th century due to armed conflicts, but when one combatant dies in the conflict, an additional 14 to 15 civilians die, mostly from preventable health conditions. Response to the health needs of people affected by crises is often demanding given the limited evidence available to inform the governments, international partners, and humanitarian organizations on how to best respond to the health needs of the people affected by humanitarian crises.
Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991. Years of conflict, frequent natural disasters, and insecurity have all contributed to very low scores for most health indicators due to poor governance, protracted conflict, environmental degradation, poverty, and social and gender inequality. While Somalia's health system has been slightly progressing over the last few years, there have been significant challenges in both the provision of health services and enabling access to the services. The progress, and also the setbacks, of the health sector, has been obscured by a dearth of robust evidence to inform the governments, and other humanitarian organizations on how to best respond to the staggering health needs of Somali people. The objective of this research topic is to promote health research production in Somalia, which is an urgent national and global imperative. Following discussions with Somali researchers, we invited universities, NGOs, and research institutions to submit research papers to this research topic.
The research topic will cover a broad range of health fields and health risk factors, with more emphasis on the most challenging health issues such as maternal health, mental health, and infectious diseases. We will accept only systematic reviews and original research papers.
Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991. Years of conflict, frequent natural disasters, and insecurity have all contributed to very low scores for most health indicators due to poor governance, protracted conflict, environmental degradation, poverty, and social and gender inequality. While Somalia's health system has been slightly progressing over the last few years, there have been significant challenges in both the provision of health services and enabling access to the services. The progress, and also the setbacks, of the health sector, has been obscured by a dearth of robust evidence to inform the governments, and other humanitarian organizations on how to best respond to the staggering health needs of Somali people. The objective of this research topic is to promote health research production in Somalia, which is an urgent national and global imperative. Following discussions with Somali researchers, we invited universities, NGOs, and research institutions to submit research papers to this research topic.
The research topic will cover a broad range of health fields and health risk factors, with more emphasis on the most challenging health issues such as maternal health, mental health, and infectious diseases. We will accept only systematic reviews and original research papers.
Keywords: Humanitarian crises, health research, Somalia, civil war, primary health care.
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