World Class

When we think of health in conflict zones, we usually think of the victims of violence. But more people can die due to other healthcare disruptions than they do from combat wounds. War-torn states are vulnerable to malnutrition, contaminated water, and – most terrifying – outbreaks such as Ebola and Zika. If physicians can't do their work, the wrong set of conditions could set off a global pandemic. What lessons can we draw from the past few years, and what steps are we taking now to be ready for the next inevitable outbreak? Michele Barry and Paul Wise are two of the eight FSI scholars confronting civil war threats with the "Civil Wars, Violence, and International Responses" project. Supported by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, FSI's Karl Eikenberry and Stephen Krasner gathered experts from around the world to talk about changing international policy to meet these new challenges. We will be speaking with each of the scholars about how civil wars are changing, how they might affect the re