Rarely matched by other disciplines, health provides major ethical and spiritual basis for influencing individual and societal behavior. Conflicts disorganize and demoralize civil society and erode its institutions including health care systems. However, effective health systems and the initiatives within them can be and are often the only effective bridges to peace during times of conflict. There are numerous instances in which health initiatives are bridges for peace. Allow me to illustrate this by citing only two examples at the community level from Sub-Sahara Africa.
Health is of primary concern to everyone.
Effective CBHC systems and initiatives assure active participation by all sectors of the community. They harmonize ethnic, economic, political, educational, gender, and religious diversities to provide basic quality health care that meets the needs and aspirations of communities, under the able leadership of CBHC committees selected by and accountable to the communities. Trust, dialogue, understanding, equity, empathy, compromise, and reconciliation are of the essence and underpin the work of these committees. To mitigate the devastating effects of deep and widespread poverty, commercial sex work is a thriving industry in these slums. With soaring unemployment and a palpable lack of healthy leisure and recreational activities, violent clashes often occur when rival gangs attempt to recruit youths for drug peddling and other criminal activities.