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Review
. 2013 Jun;103(6):980-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301118. Epub 2013 Apr 18.

The maladies of water and war: addressing poor water quality in Iraq

Tara Rava Zolnikov  1
Affiliations
Review

The maladies of water and war: addressing poor water quality in Iraq

Tara Rava Zolnikov. Am J Public Health. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Water is essential in providing nutrients, but contaminated water contributes to poor population health. Water quality and availability can change in unstructured situations, such as war. To develop a practical strategy to address poor water quality resulting from intermittent wars in Iraq, I reviewed information from academic sources regarding waterborne diseases, conflict and war, water quality treatment, and malnutrition. The prevalence of disease was high in impoverished, malnourished populations exposed to contaminated water sources. The data aided in developing a strategy to improve water quality in Iraq, which encompasses remineralized water from desalination plants, health care reform, monitoring and evaluation systems, and educational public health interventions.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Top-down approach to water quality reconstruction in Iraq.
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