As part of the World Banks work with the 2011 World Development Report on “Conflict, Security and Development”, PRIO has been contracted to do a background study on the “Human, Economic and Social Consequences of Fragility and Conflict”. PRIO is doing a statistical analysis of the consequences of conflict, including the effects on mortality, health and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; economic growth; and political and social systems.
The project is motivated by the fact that wars not only kill directly, but profoundly affects the lives and livelihood of those living in conflict affected countries. In addition to battlefield casualties, armed conflict often leads to forced migration and refugees and the destruction of a societies' infrastructure. This project is conducting a statistical analysis of the consequences of conflict. The effects of armed conflict are evaluated with respect to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; economic growth; the political institutions of a state; and human rights. The direct and indirect a mechanism through which violent conflict degrades population health is also evaluated.