infant mortality

This article asks how two types of large-scale conflict—major interstate wars and major civil wars—relate to children’s health, measured by infant mortality rates. Using country-year analysis across 1950–2007, the author examines both immediate and cumulative associations between time spent at war and infant mortality, and emphasizes what this evidence says about violations of children’s right to health without making causal claims beyond the study’s design.

Dissident violence indirectly harms civilians through government budgetary shifts to defense at the expense of social services. Using subnational data from Peru, this study demonstrates that soldier fatalities during budget negotiations drive a significant reduction in local health budgets (0.13 percentage points). These cuts result in increased infant mortality rates years later. The effect operates through decreased utilization of women's healthcare facilities and postnatal services.