Exploring war related health and nutrition crisis from the experience of the communities in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

War and conflict result in destructive and persistent setbacks to the development of human societies. Despite ample quantitative reports, the lived experiences of communities affected by war have not been explored in depth. Therefore, this study aims to explore the lived experiences of health and nutrition among war-affected communities. Host community members and internally displaced people (IDPs) were selected and 24 Focus Group Discussions and three Key Informant Interviews conducted. Audio recorded data was transcribed, translated and imported to Atlas-ti version 20 software for analysis. Coding and in-depth reading helped to identify further conceptualization. Thematic analysis was conducted based on descriptive phenomenology. Five themes emerged, including: “memorizing cherished events of the prewar period,” “the shattered livelihoods of the community,” “nonstop interruption of food aid intensifies severe malnutrition,” “reverting the wheel of the three delays,” and “the nexus of poor hygiene and sanitation, health care disruption, and hunger worsens disease outbreaks.” Delays in women’s decisions to seek health care for labor due to fear of atrocities emerged under the theme “reverting the wheel of the three delays.” The health and nutrition of the IDPs and host communities in Tigray were totally crumbled. Local economic and social services and infrastructure were devastated, disorganized, and uncoordinated, failing to fulfill the demands and expectations of the people of Tigray during the war and postwar period. Thus, there is an urgent call to rebuild the shattered livelihoods of the IDPs and host communities.