Effects of war and trauma

16% of all disabilities are acquired by war injury and trauma.

The vast majority are injuries, resulting from falls, burns, accidents, war, conflict, diseases like polio and even childbirth.

In the world’s poorest countries, it can be difficult to access medical care. This means injuries are much more likely to lead to death or life-long disability.

A key goal of CBM’s programs is to find people with injuries early on so we can provide treatment to prevent disability and death.

CBM’s surgical teams provide urgent surgery to save lives and restore broken bodies - from repairing women suffering with obstetric fistula to saving the sight of children with horrific war injuries.

Salma's story

Five-year-old Salma from Afghanistan was sickeningly wounded when her father accidentally brought a grenade into their house.

He didn't know what it was.

The grenade exploded in Salma’s face, lacerating her eyes with shards of metal.

In armed conflict, children are the most vulnerable of all. They have no armour to protect them from bullets, bombs or the nightmares that haunt them long after the last missile is fired.

Without surgery, by Australian co-worker Dr Roger Dethlefs and paid for by Australian donors, Samla risked permanent blindness and even death.

“Children are the innocent victims,” says Roger.

“They and their parents know nothing but a lifetime of war. Many children carry the scars.”

Facts about acquired injury

• 96 million people have been disabled by war, injury and trauma
• Five million people die each year from injury
• Worldwide 875,000 children and adolescents are killed each year by injury. 
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says 99% of maternal deaths are preventable, yet every minute a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes.