Impact of war and disasters on Women’s health

Presented By:Prabesh Ghimire

Applied Family HealthBPH 3rd YearValley College of Technical Sciences

A power-point presentation on:

IntroductionIntroduction

Disaster & Disaster & Women’s HealthWomen’s Health

Direct impactsDirect impacts

Increased mortality than men. (eg: women being in homes and men in open areas)

Food insecurity causing higher vulnerability for women: malnutrition, anaemia etc. (adverse on pregnant women & nursing mothers)

Impacts on reproductive Impacts on reproductive healthhealth

Adverse reproductive health outcomes following disaster.

Early pregnancy lossPre-mature deliveryStill-birthsDelivery complicationsInfertility

Perineal rashes & UTI among adolescent girls

Causes: Unable to wash menstrual rags in privateNo access to clean waterNo private places to dry the rags.

Domestic & Sexual AbuseDomestic & Sexual AbuseWomen experiences low assess

to disaster relief and recovery sources. Thus, may be coerced into sex for basic needs such as food, shelter.

Sex industry often becomes a part of women refugee in the aftermath of disaster.

Psychological impactPsychological impactGreater proportion of women and

girls suffer from emotional disorders as compared to men in the aftermath of disaster. (shock, anxiety, sleep disturbances, etc)

Girl child may be heavily affected by trauma and that being women are a high risk factor for distress.

Sexual abuse, low social support may be associated with higher post-disaster psychological distress.

Socio-economic impactsSocio-economic impactsPost disaster “flight of men” may occur

leaving women as sole earners.Low literacy levels and ownership of land

and other productive assets may leave women on the verge of destitution.

Problems in assessing relief (food, water, health care etc.). Where food distribution targets household heads, women may be systematically marginalized.

Loss of clothing.Unable to go out in publicAffects assess to assistancePotential for abuse

Loss of employmentLoss of employmentThe informal economic and

agricultural sectors are usually the most impacted areas by natural disasters

Thus, women become over-represented among the unemployed following a disaster.

When women’s economic resources are taken away, their bargaining position in the household is adversely affected (in terms of health seeking…..).

War & War & Women’s Women’s

HealthHealth

Effects of warEffects of war

Bombs and weapons kill and hurt civilian women equally with civilian men during armed conflicts.

However, the indirect and long-term consequences of war, (years after the conflict has ended) are disproportionately suffered by women and children.

Women constitute the majority of refugees and internally displaced persons who escape conflict to camps where mortality and morbidity rates escalate due to poor sanitary conditions, scarce medical supplies, malnutrition, discrimination, and sexual abuse

Physical effects

Many young girls and women are gang-raped during or after war.. As a result they suffer multiple physical injuries. It may be immediate or long-term.

Among the injuries are abrasions and tears:Fistula - a tear in the walls separating hollow internal

organs such as the vagina and the rectum. Many of these women suffer family and community rejection.

Broken bones - as a result of torture and gang rapes. Many of these are not treated properly because of a lack of access to public health. This results in lifelong disability.

Amputations - used as a brutal reminder to victims of the enemy's 'intent' (used often during the civil war in Sierra Leone).

Back pain and migraines - sometimes immediate, but often long-term, chronic effects of brutal attacks.

MalnutritionOften, civil conflict either pave the way

for famines, or prevent food from reaching the communities.

Because of women’s physiology, they are vulnerable to vitamin and iron deficiencies that affect their health and energy levels as well as their pregnancies. Iron deficiency anemia is a serious health condition for women of reproductive age and can be fatal for pregnant women.

Because women are usually the last to eat, when resources are scarce, they suffer malnutrition.

Rape, sexual torture, and Rape, sexual torture, and sexual exploitation in warsexual exploitation in war

Young girls who have lost family guidance due to war and displacement are especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

Military rape, and sexual abuse of women by men in war.

Slicing off breasts with weapons.Crude surgery in which sexual

organs are cut out to make women continuously available without pregnancy. (Report from Japan)

Reproductive health: In countries suffering conflict, women are at

greater risk since they generally cannot get prenatal support or emergency obstetric care.

War & conflicts cause little or no access to birth control, life-saving pregnancy-related care, and supplies for menstruating women.

The women do not get the care they need and lead to many 'spontaneous' abortions (miscarriages) brought on by physical and mental stress.

Even after miscarriages women are detached of immediate medical assistance to save their lives and prevent infertility.

Unwanted and unplanned pregnancies can also be a result of war. (Those using family planning to avoid pregnancy do not get the services)

Mental health & psychological trauma:

The mental effects of war can be enormous.

Anxietypost- traumatic stress disordersDepressionSuicide

The exposure to trauma and violence itself may have an effect on pregnancy.

Contracting of STIs & Contracting of STIs & HIV/AIDSHIV/AIDS

During conflict, the STIs rates in the female population rise.

HIV is one of the most serious infection transmitted from rape.

References:References:‘Gender and health in natural

disasters’ WHO, 2002“Handbook For Estimating The Socio -

Economic And Environmental Effects Of Disasters”

AFRICA-ASIA: “War and women's health” (IRIN)

“Gender and Natural Disasters” Pan American Health Organization

Thank YouThank You