Skip Navigation Links.
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 12 (2024)</span>Volume 12 (2024)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 11 (2023)</span>Volume 11 (2023)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 10 (2022)</span>Volume 10 (2022)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 9 (2021)</span>Volume 9 (2021)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 8 (2020)</span>Volume 8 (2020)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 7 (2019)</span>Volume 7 (2019)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 6 (2018)</span>Volume 6 (2018)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 5 (2017)</span>Volume 5 (2017)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 4 (2016)</span>Volume 4 (2016)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 3 (2015)</span>Volume 3 (2015)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 2 (2014)</span>Volume 2 (2014)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 1 (2013)</span>Volume 1 (2013)
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2024, 12(2), 8-21
DOI: 10.12691/AJPHR-12-2-1
Original Research

Climate Change and Violence in the Horn of Africa

Begna Dugassa1,

1The Oromo Studies Association

Pub. Date: April 14, 2024
Full Text PDF

Cite this paper

Begna Dugassa. Climate Change and Violence in the Horn of Africa. American Journal of Public Health Research. 2024; 12(2):8-21. doi: 10.12691/AJPHR-12-2-1

Abstract

Background: Climate change is exacerbating social problems and creating new challenges. It limits self-sufficient societies from feeding their families and intensifies competition for limited resources. Like infectious diseases, violence is predictable, preventable, and contagious. We can apply public health methods to predict and prevent violence. Methods: Applying Abraham Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs and motivation, primary and secondary data are collected and analyzed if climate change causes deficits in physiological needs (i.e., food, water, shelter, clothing, comfort, sleep, and procreation), safety and security needs, and social needs/belonging and contribute to violent motives. Objectives: The primary objective of this paper is to explore if climate change aggravates the deficits in physiological needs (i.e., food, water, shelter, clothing, comfort, sleep, and procreation), safety and security needs, as well as social/belonging needs and instigate the motives to violence. The secondary objective is to provide a public health thinking framework, foster people's capacity to think and act at the "upstream level," and advance violence prevention. Findings: In the Horn of Africa (HA), climate change widens deficits in physiological and security needs. Those deficits enlarge necessities for social needs and intensify competition for resources. The violence resulting from climate change is contagious, predictable, preventable, and has an incubation period. Conclusions: Climate change is one of the root causes of violence in the HA. Thinking "upstream level" and envisioning prevention strategies can reduce and prevent violence.

Keywords

3282 Bobwhite Mews, Mississauga, ON L5N 6G1

Copyright

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

[1]  Berger, Peter and Luckman, Thomas (1967) The Social Construction of Reality, A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, New York.
 
[2]  Audi, Robrt (1998) Epistemology, A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, Second Edition, Routledge, New York.
 
[3]  Rowitz, Louis (2001) Public Health Leadership, Putting Principles into Practice, An Aspen Publication, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
 
[4]  Wallack, Lawrence (2019) Building a Social Justice Narrative for Public Health, Health Education and Behavior, Vol. 46 (6) pps901-904.
 
[5]  Scutchfield, Douglass and Keck, William (1997) Principles of Public Health Practices, Delmar Publishers, Albany.
 
[6]  Rose, George (1993) A History of Public Health, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
 
[7]  NIH, History of Public Health https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC7170188/pdf/main.pdf (Retrieved on September 02, 2023).
 
[8]  Planetary Health Alliance ( ) The Lancet Planetary health: a new science for exceptional action, https:// www.thelancet.com/ pdfs/journals/lancet/ PIIS0140-6736(15)61038-8.pdf and https:// www.planetaryhealthalliance.org/ planetary-health.
 
[9]  WHO (2002), World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva, Switzerland.
 
[10]  APHA (2018) Violence is a Public Health Issue: Public Health is Essential to Understanding and Treating Violence in the U.S., Policy number 20185.
 
[11]  Slutkin, G. (2013). “Violence Is a Contagious Disease.” The Contagion of Violence. Institute of Medicine. Available at: www.cureviolence.org/wp-content/ uploads/2014/01/iom.pdf.
 
[12]  Dugassa, Begna. (2019). Public Health Impacts of Famine in the Horn of Africa American Journal of Public Health Research, 2019, Vol. 7, No. 5, 171-181.
 
[13]  Ford, Richard; Adam Hussein and Ismail, Edna (2000) War Destroys, Peace Nurtures. Somali Reconciliation and Development, The Red Sea Press, Lawrenceville, NJ.
 
[14]  Dugassa, Begna. (2021). “Climate Change and Public Health Challenges in the Horn of Africa: The Need for Sustainable Leadership and Institutions.” American Journal of Public Health Research, vol. 9, no. 1: 5-17.
 
[15]  Dugassa, Begna; Diba Fantahun and Bachie Oli (2021) Climate Change and Public Health in the Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia and Its Implications for the Nile Basin. American Journal of Public Health Research; 9(6): 257-269.
 
[16]  Pongisi, Montira; Haines, Andy; Georgeson, Lucien; Murray, Virginia (2019) Planetary Health: From Concept to Decisive Action, The Lancet Planetary Health, Vol 3, e401-404.
 
[17]  McLeod, Saul (2023) Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs, Updated on July 26, 2023, Reviewed by Olivia Guy-Evans, Msc; https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.
 
[18]  Esterberg, Kristin (2002) Qualitative Methods in Social Research, McGraw Hill.
 
[19]  Holcomb, B., & Ibssa, S. (1990). The Invention of Ethiopia: The Making of a Dependent Colonial State in North Africa. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[20]  Jalata, A. (2005). Oromia and Ethiopia. State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict 1868-2004. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[21]  Dugassa, Begna. (2008). Indigenous Knowledge, Colonialism and Epistemological Violence. The Experience of the Oromo People Under Abyssinian Colonial Rule, A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
 
[22]  Lata, L. (2000). The Ethiopian State at the Crossroads: Decolonization, Democratization or Disintegration? Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[23]  Regassa,Asebe (2023) Jirra: Oromo protest songs as weapons of resistance against domination in Ethiopia, AFRICAN IDENTITIES2023, AHEAD-OF-PRINT, pp. 1-18.
 
[24]  Dugassa, Begna (2021) The Public Health Significance of Religious Imposition: The Experience of Oromo People in Ethiopia. J Relig Health 60, 974–998.
 
[25]  Dugassa, Begna. (2014). Reclaiming Oromo Indigenous Organizational Structures and Fostering Supportive Environments for Health, Archives of Business Research – Vol.2, No.1, p2-24.
 
[26]  Ray, Rashawn, Lantz, Paula and Williams, David (2023) Upstream Policy Changes to Improve Population Health and Health Equity: A Priority Agenda, The Milbank Quarterly, Vol 101, No. S1, pp.20-35.
 
[27]  Taylor, R. and Rieger, A. (1985). ‘Medicine as Social Science: Rudolph Virchow on the Typhus Epidemic in Upper Silesia’. International Journal of Health Services, 15(4): 547-559.
 
[28]  Dugassa, Begna. (2012). Knowledge Construction: Untapped Perspective in Pursuit for Health Equity. Sociology Mind, 2, 362- 372.
 
[29]  Dugassa, Begna. (2004). Human Rights Violations and Famine in Ethiopia. The Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol.11, Number 1 and 2, page 47-68.
 
[30]  Clay, J., & Holcomb, B. (1986). Politics and the Ethiopian Famine 1984-1985. New Brunswick and Oxford: Transaction Books.
 
[31]  Keys A, Brožek J, Henschel A, Mickelsen O, Taylor HL, et al. (1950). The biology of human starvation, University of Minnesota Press.
 
[32]  CDC 10 Essential Public Health Services https:// www.cdc.gov/ publichealthgateway/publichealthservices/essentialhealthservices.html (Retrieved on September 19, 2023).
 
[33]  Dugassa Begna. (2021B). Structural Inequality (SI) and Underdevelopment of Public Health Conditions: the Experiences of Oromo people in Ethiopia. HPHR.; 30.
 
[34]  Dugassa, Begna (2017). Collective Violence and Public Health: The Experience of the Oromo People in Ethiopia. Sociology Mind, 7, 102-127.
 
[35]  Nettle, Daniel. (2017). Does Hunger Contribute to Socioeconomic Gradients in Behavior?, Front Psychol.; 8: 358.
 
[36]  Crichlow, W. (2002). Western colonization as disease: Native adoption & cultural genocide. Critical Social Work, 2(2), 104-126.
 
[37]  HRW - Human Rights Watch (1991) Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia, An African Watch Report, New York.
 
[38]  Watts, Sheldon (1999) Epidemics and History: Disease, Power and Imperialism, Yale University, New Haven.
 
[39]  Dugassa, Begna (2011) Colonialism of Mind: Deterrent of Social Transformation ——The Experiences of Oromo People in Ethiopia, Journal of Sociology of Mind, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp55-64.
 
[40]  Jalata, Asafa (2005), State Terrorism and Globalization: The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan. Sociology Publications and Other Works. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_socopubs/86.
 
[41]  WHO. (1986). Ottawa Charter Health Promotion, https:// www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhancedwellbeing/first-global-conference.
 
[42]  42. Dugassa, Begna (2015) Epistemic Freedom and Development of Better Public Health Conditions: The case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1& 2, p199-238.
 
[43]  Glover, Chris & Makooie, Bobbak. (2018). Exposure to Community Violence as a Social Determinant of Health, Report to Toronto Board of Health.
 
[44]  Slutkin, Gary; Ransford, Charles and Zvetina Daria (2018). How the Health Sector Can Reduce Violence by Treating it as a Contagion, AMA Journal of Ethics, Volume 20, Number 1: 47-55.
 
[45]  Dugassa, Begna (2023) “The Nexus between Violence against Children and Public Health: The Experiences of Oromo People in Ethiopia.” American Journal of Public Health Research, vol. 11, no. 1 (2023): 25-37.
 
[46]  EPA- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Indicators: Heavy Precipitation, https:// www.epa.gov/ climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heavy-precipitation#: ~:text=Warmer%20oceans%20increase%20the%20amount,heavier%20rain%20and%20snow%20storms (Retrieved October 2, 2023).
 
[47]  PBS NewsHour (2023) Native Hawaiian discusses culture destroyed by Maui wildfire, https://www.pbs.org/video/maui-fires-1692212381/(Retrieved October 2, 2023).
 
[48]  PBS Newshour, Burning Man cancels 2021 festival in northern Nevada desert, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/burning-man-cancels-2021-festival-in-northern-nevada-desert (Retrieved October 2, 2023).
 
[49]  Kremer, Robert. (2012). Soil Microbiology Under Drought Stress. ACRES. 42. 18-21. [18] Cavicchioli, R., Ripple, W.J.,
 
[50]  Timmis, K.N. et al (2019). Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change. Nat Rev Microbiol. 17, 569-586.
 
[51]  The Ethiopian Herald (2002) People Agreed to Reduce Religious Holiday, IIX, 035, 20th October, page.
 
[52]  Hoben, Allan (1995) Paradigms and Politics: The Cultural Construction of Environmental Policy in Ethiopia. World Development, .23 (6) 1007-1021.
 
[53]  Taipale, Ilkka; Makela, Helena; Juva Kati; Taipale, Vappu; Kolesnikov, Sergei; Mutalik Raj and Christ Michael. (2002). War or Health? A Reader, University Press, Dhaka.
 
[54]  Hirst, David (1999) “Tsorana on the Eritrea-Ethiopian Border,” Guardian, Tuesday May 18.
 
[55]  Jalata, A. (2005). State Terrorism and Globalization: The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 46(1-2), 79 102.
 
[56]  Kaplan, R. (2003) Surrender or Starve. Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, Vintage Books, New York.
 
[57]  Dugassa, Begna (2012) Denial of Leadership Development and the Underdevelopment of Public Health: The Experience of the Oromo People in Ethiopia. Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1 &2, p139-174.
 
[58]  OSG Estimate
 
[59]  Reporter (2023) War in Tigray May have killed 600,000 people, Peace Mediator, Says, Financial Times https:// www.ft.com/content/2f385e95-0899-403a-9e3bed8c24adf4e7.
 
[60]  Craig, Anderson (2001) Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, Vol. 10, No.1 February pp-33-38.
 
[61]  Matter, Gray (2013). Weather and Violence, New York Times, http://emiguel.econ.berkeley.edu/ wordpress/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2013/08/ Weather-and-Violence-The-New-York-Times.pdf.
 
[62]  Cahill, Kevin (1999) Introduction (In Cahill, Kevin book A Framework for Survival), A joint publication of Routledge and the Center for International Health and Cooperation, Routledge, New York.
 
[63]  Dugassa, Begna (2022) Fostering Healthy Social Policies and Sustainable Development: Employing Oromummaa as a Framework of Thinking, The Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol. 28, No.1, pp65-90.
 
[64]  Dugassa, Begna. (2018). The Significance of Collective Rights to Public Health Development: The Case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, American Journal of Public Health Research. 6(5), 203-214.
 
[65]  Krieger, Nancy. (2001). Theories for Social Epidemiology in the 21st Century: an ecological perspective, International Journal of Epidemiology, 30 668-677.
 
[66]  Dugassa, Begna (2020) What can we Learn from the Past Deadly Pandemics and Prepare to Curb COVID-19? American Journal of Public Health Research, 2020, Vol. 8, No. 2, 67-76.
 
[67]  Lemessa, Dechassa and Perault, Matthew. (2002). Forest Fires in Ethiopia: Reflections on Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects of the Fires in 2000-An Assessment Study June-September 2001. The Journal of Oromo Studies Volume 9, Numbers 1 and 2, pp95-130.
 
[68]  Kecmanovic, D. (1996). Causes and Mechanisms of the Spread of Nationalism. In: The Mass Psychology of Ethnonationalism. Path in Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA.