How can Schools of Public Health Actively Promote Peace?

Abstract

War has detrimental consequences on public health. They range from medical and public health implications, human rights violations, and ethical, political, social, environmental, and economic implications [1]. With such profound influence on health, Schools of Public Health (SPH), intrinsically, will oppose organized armed conflict. But can they do more? We believe so. SPH can–and should–actively engage in promoting peace. They should do so not only in terms of the absence of war or conflict but also to promote “the presence of justice and equity, as well as respect for human rights and for the Earth” [2]. Medical doctors, nurses, and other health professions have already been active in this, e.g., the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Also, the framework Peace through Health (PtH) [3] promotes the vision to collaborate “on policy development, training, and service across borders and lines in conflict” [4]. The PtH approach, however, primarily addresses the role of health and humanitarian aid workers in zones of armed conflict and those involved in rebuilding afterward. Such workers are without doubt of utmost importance for immediate peacebuilding processes. Many of these approaches are primarily medical or humanitarian. Public health, with its interdisciplinary perspective rooted in the understanding of the role of social, economic, and political determinants of health as well as on prevention and population approaches, has a lot more to offer [5]. It can broaden the discourse and practices on how to engage in conflicts and war prevention.