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War and the Energy-Health Nexus in the Middle East
Abstract
Protracted conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are marked by the destruction and deterioration of energy infrastructures that have contributed to public health crises in Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories. Shortages of electricity hinder access to basic services, undermine livelihoods, create food insecurity, and help spread infectious disease, particularly among internally displaced populations (IDPs). Because water services (drinking water, wastewater, sanitation) depend upon energy, the lack of electricity leads to disruptions in water and sewage treatment, contributing to the spread of diseases such as cholera and diptheria. This paper presents early findings of an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration between political scientists and public health experts exploring the linkages between the targeting of energy infrastructures and human health. The health-related impacts of war on civilians from lack of energy access are difficult to assess, particularly as some public health impacts unfold over longer time-frames than civilian deaths in conflict. These effects often take the form of ‘slow violence,’ as health and environmental costs mount over time. Public health experts have begun to elucidate the effects of lack of energy access in protracted conflict and the outbreak of infectious diseases. However, a recent survey of humanitarian organizations working in the MENA found that while the reverberating effects of infrastructure damage on public health are widely acknowledged, the linkages are poorly understood and severely understudied. Since centralized, complex networks dominate the provision of energy, how do humanitarian organizations and others try to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases when these systems collapse? Do these interventions lay the groundwork for more decentralized and resilient systems of energy provision? How and under what conditions do public health issues inform reconstruction priorities in the energy sector? Our analysis draws upon multiple data collection methods and forms of analysis to analyze the public health impacts of energy infrastructure destruction and health-energy linkages in reconstruction efforts. We draw upon an original dataset on the targeting civilian infrastructure in the post-2011 wars to track the distribution of damage to energy infrastructures and related infrastructure. These sources will be combined with data from World Health Organization and our public health partners working on civilians in conflict, along with a new dataset tracking reconstruction efforts around energy infrastructures. We further draw upon ongoing interviews with humanitarian organizations, service providers, and technocrats involved in tracking and reconstructing energy infrastructures, including for refugees and IDPs.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Sub Area
Health