The Health Consequences of the Mozambican Civil War: An Anthropometric Approach

Citation:

Domingues, Patrick, and Thomas Barre. 2013. “The Health Consequences of the Mozambican Civil War: An Anthropometric Approach.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 61 (4): 755–88. doi:10.1086/670377.

Authors: Patrick Domingues, Thomas Barre

Abstract:

Survivors of a war bear the burden of reconstruction; therefore, understanding the costs of civil conflicts to survivors' health is crucial for the design of postwar economic policies. This article investigates this issue by examining the Mozambican Civil War using an original georeferenced event data set. The results presented here show that fully grown women exposed to the conflict during the early years of their lives have poorer health, as reflected by a lower height-for-age z-score. Using the infancy-childhood-puberty curves, a concept used in the medical literature to study the human growth process, this study demonstrates that this negative effect depends on both age at the time of exposure to the civil war and the number of months spent in the conflict zone. Furthermore, this study finds that the number of months of prenatal civil war exposure has a negative impact on a woman's health, thereby highlighting the importance of prenatal conditions for health outcomes.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Gender, Health, Reproductive Health, Livelihoods, Militarized Livelihoods Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2013

© 2023 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.