Margaret Bourdeaux: Why civilians suffer more once a war is over
Margaret Bourdeaux: Perché i civili soffrono di più dopo la fine di una guerra
Margaret Bourdeaux investigates the best ways to protect, recover and reconstruct health systems and institutions disrupted by war or disaster. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
what it would be like
there are no rules
per cui non ci sono regole
and there are no laws.
e non ci sono leggi.
have disappeared.
sono sparite.
about what this is like,
tutto questo,
a medical student in 1999,
ero una studentessa di medicina,
in the Balkans during the Kosovo War.
nei Balcani, durante la guerra del Kosovo.
from my medical school
mi ha permesso, incredibilmente,
that I had befriended in the camp
che avevo conosciuto al campo
life in this postwar setting.
la vita nel dopoguerra.
was a very interesting place
era un luogo davvero interessante
the war didn't break out again.
che la guerra non ricominciasse.
it was actually a lawless place,
era un posto senza regole,
both public and private,
sia pubbliche che private,
of these situations and settings,
in queste situazioni,
before you run into a situation
prima di incappare in una situazione
how incredibly vulnerable you are.
incredibilmente vulnerabile.
when I had to cross the first checkpoint,
attraversare un posto di blocco,
through this checkpoint
per quel posto di blocco
right then and there,
così, sui due piedi,
anything illegal.
niente di illegale.
was absolutely nothing
era del tutto irrilevante
of the families that I got to know
delle famiglie che ho conosciuto
where there are no social institutions
dove non ci sono istituzioni sociali
"What are we going to eat tonight?"
"Cosa mangiamo stasera?"
when you don't have any security systems,
in assenza di un sistema di sicurezza,
with the neighbor down the block
con un vicino del quartiere
che porrà fine alla mia vita
that will end my life
when there is no health system
quando non c'è un sistema sanitario,
had to sort through questions like,
cercare soluzioni a domande come:
What am I going to do?"
Cosa devo fare?"
is bleeding. What should I do?
sta sanguinando. Cosa devo fare?
where are the nurses?
dove sono le infermiere?
In what currency will I pay them?"
Con quale valuta?"
where will I find them?
dove posso trovarle?
are they actually counterfeits?"
e poi sono contraffatte?"
the dominant feature of life,
la sua caratteristica dominante,
that people have to manage
che le persone devono affrontare
di un sistema sociale.
is incredibly difficult to explain
estremamente difficile da spiegare
who are living outside of it.
che vivono all'infuori di tutto ciò.
il Kosovo.
I became a physician,
sono diventata un medico,
health policy researcher.
di politiche sanitarie pubbliche mondiali.
al Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Division of Global Health.
on this problem right away.
a lavorare a questo problema.
la devastante vulnerabilità
the crushing vulnerability
of fragile settings?
in questi fragili scenari?
we can start to think about
iniziare a pensare
that are critical to survival,
alla sopravvivenza,
I had amazing colleagues.
dei colleghi meravigliosi.
fosse una domanda insolita.
question for them.
"Oh, if you work in war,
"Ma se lavori durante una guerra,
you work on refugee camps,
nei campi per rifugiati,
mass atrocities?" --
very, very important.
why I was so passionate about this issue,
perché questo problema mi stava a cuore,
the public health consequences of war
della guerra sulla sanità pubblica,
provocative conclusion.
incredibile e provocatoria.
and disability from war
e le disabilità della guerra
living in a conflict-affected state
per chi vive in uno Stato in guerra
has been achieved.
una soluzione politica.
but of course it's not,
ma ovviamente non lo è,
by robbing them of their clinics,
privandole delle loro cliniche,
they're on the run.
si danno alla fuga.
and yet more deadly is the destruction
è la distruzione
and their finances.
e dei loro fondi.
surprising at all to me.
non è per niente sorprendente.
and somewhat dismaying,
e che in qualche modo sconcerta,
che ha avuto questa scoperta
about human suffering and war.
alla sofferenza umana e alla guerra.
country of Liberia.
paese dell'Africa occidentale.
about this group, Doctors Without Borders,
sul gruppo di Medici Senza Frontiere,
and calling for aid and assistance.
e chiedeva aiuto e assistenza.
answered the question:
rispondeva alla domanda:
even in Liberia?
è in Liberia?
is an amazing organization,
è un'organizzazione eccezionale,
emergency care in war zones.
il primo soccorso nelle zone di guerra.
era terminata nel 2003,
before Ebola even struck.
in the entire country
in tutto il paese,
a functioning health system,
un sistema sanitario funzionante,
aid was phenomenal.
fu fenomenale.
two percent of that funding
il 2% di quei finanziamenti
le istituzioni pubbliche di Haiti,
Haitian public institutions,
from the earthquake even today.
ancora oggi a causa del terremoto.
in the northern autonomous region of Iraq,
autonoma settentrionale dell'Iraq,
that in the last nine months,
che negli ultimi nove mesi,
from four million people
è aumentata da quattro milioni
have experienced incredible trauma.
hanno subito traumi incredibili.
16-hour days without pay.
16 ore al giorno senza paga.
by 25 percent;
and to short-term relief efforts.
in sicurezza e aiuti a breve termine.
di persone nella sua regione
of the five million people in his region
whether they should flee
il caso di scappare
this is a frustrating topic for me,
di un argomento frustrante per me,
a proteggere e sostenere
and security systems?
di sicurezza locali?
two arguments.
due argomenti.
riguarda la corruzione:
in these settings are corrupt
unsavory characters
personaggi sgradevoli
in questi contesti.
in these situations.
is absolutely true
anche il contrario
to Haiti, to Liberia --
ad Haiti, alla Liberia,
dei loro Paesi,
for their country,
to save their health institutions.
le proprie istituzioni sanitarie.
who wants to help
che vogliono dare una mano
e metterli al comando.
in Afghanistan.
in Afghanistan.
success stories
non detta e non raccontata
in Afghanistan
la nazione in Afghanistan,
investing heavily
della Banca Mondiale nel 2002
Afghani health sector leaders.
i leader del settore sanitario afghano.
have pulled off an incredible feat
hanno raggiunto un risultato incredibile
access to health care
l'accesso al servizio sanitario
la situazione sanitaria
the health status
of Health does things
della Salute fa cose
per creare nuove politiche.
molto parlare è:
we just don't have the money.
non abbiamo i soldi.
that the current situation
che la situazione attuale
we could possibly conceive of.
che si possa concepire.
is that when governments like the US --
che governi come gli Stati Uniti
of governments
and disaster relief worldwide.
e in caso di calamità in tutto il mondo.
that's just disaster relief.
ma solo di aiuti in caso di catastrofi.
goes to international relief agencies,
umanitarie internazionali,
into these areas,
in queste zone,
of temporary health system, let's say,
di sistema sanitario temporaneo,
when they run out of money.
quando finiscono i soldi.
risulta molto chiaro.
community policy experts,
a livello mondiale,
in how to monitor
esperti nel monitorare
of health systems
dei sistemi sanitari
l'allarme agitare le braccia.
and wave our arms.
they don't need us to tell them that.
un'emergenza senza che glielo diciamo noi.
need to take their cue
devono prendere spunto
in Afghanistan,
in Afghanistan,
health sector leaders like these.
i leader del settore sanitario come loro.
with some support.
il loro coraggio con un po' di sostegno.
and make new partnerships.
with NATO and other security policy makers
e altri attori nel campo della sicurezza
to protect health system institutions
per proteggere i sistemi sanitari
and other critical social institutions
e le altre istituzioni sociali importanti
collateral damage;
danni collaterali,
we need to engage is you,
che dobbiamo coinvolgere siete voi,
and indeed, the world public.
e anche il pubblico mondiale.
the value of social institutions,
il valore delle istituzioni sociali,
in these fragile settings,
in questi contesti delicati,
doctors are on the run in country X.
tutti i medici stanno scappando.
to, let's say, detect influenza."
di sconfiggere, ad esempio, l'influenza?"
That's what I'd tell you.
questo è quello che vi direi.
institution defenders and builders.
di istituzioni che preferisco.
the Marshall Plan
institutions after World War II.
europee dopo la seconda guerra mondiale.
really serves as the foundation
è stato alla base
human rights organizations.
sui diritti umani.
in terms of creating institutions,
di istituzioni,
country was threatened,
il nostro Paese era in pericolo,
to protect human security,
per proteggere la sicurezza degli uomini,
should do the same.
dovrebbe fare lo stesso.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Margaret Bourdeaux - Physician, global health policy analystMargaret Bourdeaux investigates the best ways to protect, recover and reconstruct health systems and institutions disrupted by war or disaster.
Why you should listen
Margaret Ellis Bourdeaux, MD, MPH spearheads the Threatened Health Systems Project at Harvard Medical School -- an initiative that brings together public sector leaders, health care providers, academics, military strategists and private sector stakeholders to generate creative approaches to protecting valuable health system resources in countries affected by armed conflict and acute political crisis.
Bourdeaux's journey in global health began when she took a year of leave from Yale Medical School to work in refugee camps during the Kosovo War in 1999. She returned on her own after the war to trace families she had befriended in the camps and find out what had happened to them. Living in villages of Kosovo's countryside, she documented how these families struggled to care for their children, find health services and make a living in a society decimated by genocide and ethnic conflict. This experience impressed upon her the stark truth that war kills people by stripping them of their personal, community and national resources and institutions. Far more people died in Kosovo from the depleted health systems and institutions than from wounds sustained during the armed conflict.
Later experiences in Haiti, Afghanistan, Libya, Sierra Leon, Madagascar and Liberia revealed a similar pattern: armed conflict would decimate indigenous health institutions that never recovered, leaving people helpless when later crises -- earthquakes, epidemics, renewed conflict -- invariably struck. Strong, resilient health systems are the key to making war, disasters and epidemics less deadly.
After completing a joint residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the Harvard Combined Med/Peds Program, Bourdeaux was among the first graduates of Brigham and Women's Global Women's Health Fellowship. She has worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense Policy to analyze the US Department of Defense’s global health projects and programs. She led a joint Harvard-NATO team of analysts to evaluate the impacts, challenges and opportunities international security forces have in protecting and rebuilding health systems in conflict affected states. She joined the faculty of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2011.
This year she was awarded the prestigious Harvard Global Health Institute's Burke Fellowship in Global Health to investigate the responsiveness of foreign aid to health system distress and disruption. She is co-developing the first executive education course between Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government for senior security policy makers on health system threat detection and response. In addition, she is launching Harvard Global Health Institute's first Summit on Threatened Health Systems in June 2017.
Margaret Bourdeaux | Speaker | TED.com