“Costs of War: Over 4.5 Million Lives Lost Since 9/11 – A Call for Accountability and Repair”

2023-05-18 16:09:32

More than 4.5 million people have been killed in wars since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, and that figure continues to rise, says a new study by Brown University in the state American from Rhode Island.

The figures identified as part of the “Costs of War” project, were published on Monday, May 15, and show the appalling results during the two decades following September 11, 2001.
The report estimates that nearly one million people (906,000 to 937,000) have been directly killed by wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.

In addition, more than 3.5 million people (3,588,000 to 3,716,000) died indirectly from war-related factors such as economic collapse, extreme poverty, malnutrition and the spread of diseases such as cholera or measles.
The total balance sheets therefore of the direct and indirect deaths of the war add up to a figure ranging from 4.5 million to 4.6 million people, and this balance sheet continues to increase because of world conflicts.

The USA cited in many conflicts

“These wars are still going on for millions of people around the world, who live with them and die from their effects,” says the report, which stresses that women and children “suffer the most from these impacts.”

Although the draft does not point to any country in particular, the United States was specifically cited for its role in many of these conflicts around the world after 9/11, and in particular for the victims of more than 20 years of conflict. in Afghanistan.

“Although in 2021 the United States withdrew its military forces from Afghanistan, officially ending a war that began with an invasion carried out 20 years earlier, today Afghans are suffering and dying from causes related to war at a faster pace than ever before,” the report explains.

The Costs of War project also said much more research is needed to collect more adequate data “to guide life-saving interventions”.

“More studies are needed on the impact of the destruction of public services by war, especially beyond the health system, on the health of the population,” the report adds. “Damage inflicted on water and sewerage systems, roads and commercial infrastructure such as ports, for example, has important but less understood consequences.”

The project also called on governments around the world, as well as the United States, to take responsibility for repairing the damage inflicted.

Women and children as collateral damage

The Brown University report also addresses the ongoing impact of these wars on the health of civilians, especially women and children.

It is women and children who suffer the most from the many long-term consequences of these wars. In Iraq, rape and sexual violence increased sharply after the American invasion of 2003. One in five Iraqi women has suffered physical or psychological violence since then. Women are more often victims of sexual violence in combat zones.

The majority of people displaced by these wars are children (53% in 2017). Children under five are particularly vulnerable, particularly due to high rates of child malnutrition in war zones. In total, more than 7.6 million children under the age of five in these countries are currently suffering from acute malnutrition.
The World Health Organization estimated in 2017 that one in five Syrians suffers from mental health problems.

Another survey conducted in 2018 shows that more than 60% of Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees had been traumatized by war experiences, including witnessing killings, torture as well as rape and other sexual abuse against their wives and other family members.

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