Health initiatives as bridges towards peace. The case of Gulu, Northern Uganda

This dissertation analyses whether and how health initiatives act as bridges towards peace.

The concepts of health, public health and primary health care are defined to outline their areas of activities and to demonstrate how different theoretical perspectives lead to diverse approaches in the provision of health care. The exploration of the impact of wars on health shows how security is a precondition for good health and how health initiatives assist people to realise their potential. It argues that better health, security and development can only be achieved when relief interventions are linked to future activities for the development of the war-affected societies to ensure self-sustaining human development.

The exploration of the initiatives undertaken by medical staff to prevent, tackle and overcome conflicts investigates the characteristics which enable some health workers to play more significant roles in peace promotion. The World Health Organisation’s policy ‘Health as a Bridge for Peace’ is reviewed as the first substantial action to integrate health initiatives into peace-building processes.

The case study of the conflict in Northern Uganda, shows how the problem of the ‘night commuters’ in Gulu is a means by which wider health-to-peace initiatives might best be realised. The barriers to a successful introduction and implementation of these initiatives are explored using a theoretical framework which reveals that the key barriers are ‘conceptual’, ‘programming’ and ‘structural’.

Finally, recommendations are put forward to health workers, humanitarian practitioners, national governments and international organisations, with a special relevance and application to the situation in Northern Uganda.