Dear Editor, In a recent editorial, Binns and Low highlighted how wars adversely affect public health (PH) by contributing to epidemics, disrupting health services and disease surveillance systems, upsetting the supply chain, and creating food crises. 1 While agreeing with them about the menace of wars, we want to stress two points. First, positive PH outcomes are possible even during the war. Second, we must consider a broader definition of peace that counts the impact of indirect, structural violence on health, even in the absence of wars. Thus, PH can be a tool for ameliorating the quality of life pre-, during, and postwar. No doubt, wars diminish human health, but human health has occasionally improved during conflicts. For example, Nepal witnessed reductions in maternal mortality rates due to nationwide free access to maternal care amidst the civil war. 2 Likewise, in Yemen, despite a long-drawn civil war since 2014, UNICEF collaborated with civil society to vaccinate over 500 000 children against measles and polio, improving child health. 3 As such, positive PH outcomes may be achieved despite wars.
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