The cost of war is often measured in the physical destruction . . .
the number of dead. But probably worse is the psychological
and spiritual toll. This cost takes generations to heal.
It cripples and perverts whole societies.
--Chris Hedges, War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning (2003)
Called to repair its terrible wounds, doctors see the worst of war. They see how it destroys individuals, families, communities and societies, and they stand in a unique position to understand war as a health hazard: a public health problem that devastates the minds and bodies of both combatants and civilians.
That's how armed conflict was addressed in April at the eighth annual Western Regional International Health Conference on War and Global Health, sponsored by the University of Washington Department of Global Health and Physicians for Social Responsibility. More than 600 prescient physicians, public health experts, students and activists met in Seattle