Injuries and deaths caused by unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan: revi
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop C-09, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA
Correspondence to: O Bilukha obilukha@cdc.gov
Introduction
Unexploded ordnance currently causes more injuries than landmines. The policy debate on landmines must now be widened to include threats posed by unexploded ordnance. Public health advocates must inform policy makers about the potentially devastating effects of widespread deployment of explosives which fail to explode on impact and persist for years. Recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were characterised by high altitude bombardment, targeting, among other things, munitions dumps, which may cause wide scattering of explosives. Newer munitions, such as cluster bombs, are being used.4 Even in less technically advanced conflicts, such as the current conflict in Darfur, aerial bombardment is being reported.
Compared with landmines, unexploded ordnance is not only more visible, but also easier and cheaper to remove. Characterising the type of ordnance more carefully is essential. Do the colour and shape of cluster bombs encourage tampering by children? Can new munitions be designed to be less attractive to children? Epidemiological data are essential for planning and designing efforts that educate children and inform policy makers about the dangers of unexploded ordnance.
This article was posted on bmj.com on 7 January 2005: http://bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.38337.361782.82
We thank the United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan and the International Committee of the Red Cross for providing the data on individuals injured by unexploded ordnance and landmines in Afghanistan and Mark Anderson and Bradley A Woodruff for their comments on the draft manuscript.
Contributors: OOB and MB designed the study and obtained the data. OOB analysed the data. Both authors wrote the final paper. OOB is guarantor.
Funding: No additional funding.
Competing interests: None declared.
Ethical approval: Not needed.
References
International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Landmine monitor report 2003. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002.
International Committee of the Red Cross Mine Action Program. Semi-annual report (January-June 2002). Kabul: International Committee of the Red Cross, 2002.
Human Rights Watch. Landmine use in Afghanistan. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2001. www.hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/landminesbck1011.htm (accessed 22 Dec 2004).
Gall C. Farmers in Afghanistan face fields of bombs. New York Times 2002 Oct 9: A15.(Oleg O Bilukha, epidemic intelligence se)
Correspondence to: O Bilukha obilukha@cdc.gov
Introduction
Unexploded ordnance currently causes more injuries than landmines. The policy debate on landmines must now be widened to include threats posed by unexploded ordnance. Public health advocates must inform policy makers about the potentially devastating effects of widespread deployment of explosives which fail to explode on impact and persist for years. Recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were characterised by high altitude bombardment, targeting, among other things, munitions dumps, which may cause wide scattering of explosives. Newer munitions, such as cluster bombs, are being used.4 Even in less technically advanced conflicts, such as the current conflict in Darfur, aerial bombardment is being reported.
Compared with landmines, unexploded ordnance is not only more visible, but also easier and cheaper to remove. Characterising the type of ordnance more carefully is essential. Do the colour and shape of cluster bombs encourage tampering by children? Can new munitions be designed to be less attractive to children? Epidemiological data are essential for planning and designing efforts that educate children and inform policy makers about the dangers of unexploded ordnance.
This article was posted on bmj.com on 7 January 2005: http://bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.38337.361782.82
We thank the United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan and the International Committee of the Red Cross for providing the data on individuals injured by unexploded ordnance and landmines in Afghanistan and Mark Anderson and Bradley A Woodruff for their comments on the draft manuscript.
Contributors: OOB and MB designed the study and obtained the data. OOB analysed the data. Both authors wrote the final paper. OOB is guarantor.
Funding: No additional funding.
Competing interests: None declared.
Ethical approval: Not needed.
References
International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Landmine monitor report 2003. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002.
International Committee of the Red Cross Mine Action Program. Semi-annual report (January-June 2002). Kabul: International Committee of the Red Cross, 2002.
Human Rights Watch. Landmine use in Afghanistan. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2001. www.hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/landminesbck1011.htm (accessed 22 Dec 2004).
Gall C. Farmers in Afghanistan face fields of bombs. New York Times 2002 Oct 9: A15.(Oleg O Bilukha, epidemic intelligence se)