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War zone paediatrics in Rwanda
1Office of the Director-General of Army Health Services, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Insights
Children in Rwanda faced severe trauma and ongoing medical issues, including burns, cholera, and landmine injuries, following the 1994 civil war. Urgent humanitarian codes are needed to address child welfare and prevent future conflicts
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Global Health
- Conflict Studies
Background:
- The 1994 Rwandan Civil War resulted in widespread atrocities, disproportionately affecting women and children.
- Mass displacement occurred, with nearly half the population becoming refugees or internally displaced persons.
- International humanitarian efforts, including medical aid from the UK, Canada, and Australia, were mobilized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document the immediate and ongoing medical consequences of the Rwandan Civil War on children.
- To highlight the specific traumas and health challenges faced by child survivors.
- To advocate for improved international humanitarian codes, particularly concerning landmines.
Main Methods:
- First-hand accounts and eyewitness testimonies of child trauma during the conflict.
- Description of medical problems experienced by children during and after the war.
- Analysis of post-conflict health issues and humanitarian needs.
Main Results:
- Children suffered from burns, cholera, and motor vehicle trauma in the post-war period.
- Ongoing landmine incidents continue to injure children and adolescents.
- Increased risk of HIV infection, trauma, and the needs of thousands of orphans are critical concerns.
Conclusions:
- The Rwandan Civil War inflicted profound and lasting harm on children.
- There is an urgent need for international action to protect children in conflict zones and address ongoing health crises.
- Developing time-expiry devices for landmines is crucial to mitigate long-term risks.
Abstract:
Children are particularly vulnerable to injury and death in two types of 20th century conflicts; terrorist attack and civil war. This account describes some first-hand experiences of the aftermath of the Rwandan Civil War of 1994. Events leading to the conflict are described, eye witness accounts of child trauma during the war are recorded and the medical problems (currently ongoing) affecting children are described. Over a period of 3 months from April to June 1994, between half and one million Rwandese, a significant proportion of them women and children, were murdered in brutal hand-to-hand killing, dying from close-quarter gunshot and machete slaughter. Nearly half of the population became refugees in neighbouring countries or displaced persons in their own land. UNAMIR II, the United Nations Emergency Humanitarian Response, grew to some 7000 persons by May 1995. Medical aid was provided by emergency medical contingents from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, the latter through its Australian Medical Support Force, providing the definitive emergency medical infrastructure from August 1994. In the consequent post-war civil and social disruption, children suffered from burns, cholera and from motor vehicle trauma. Ongoing landmine blasts continue to affect children and adolescents especially. A new International humanitarian code to build a time-expiry device into landmines and other similar ordinance is urgently required as the post-conflict ongoing disasters in Rwanda, Afghanistan and Cambodia illustrate. Current problems affecting children include an increasing risk of HIV infection, trauma and the special humanitarian needs of thousands of orphans.