VOLUME 2 VOLUME WAR SURGERY WORKING WITH LIMITED RESOURCES IN ARMED CONFLICT AND OTHER SITUATIONS OF VIOLENCE VOLUME 2 C. Giannou M. Baldan Å. Molde International Committee of the Red Cross 19, avenue de la Paix 1202 Geneva, Switzerland T +41 22 734 60 01 F +41 22 733 20 57 E-mail:
[email protected] www.icrc.org © ICRC, March 2013 Cover photos: M. Baldan / ICRC; Michael Zumstein / Agence VU’; E. Erichsen / Aira Hospital, Ethiopia WAR SURGERY WORKING WITH LIMITED RESOURCES IN ARMED CONFLICT AND OTHER SITUATIONS OF VIOLENCE VOLUME 2 C. Giannou M. Baldan Å. Molde PREFACE It is with great pleasure that I welcome the completion of Volume 2 of War Surgery: Working with Limited Resources in Armed Conflict and Other Situations of Violence. As did Volume 1, this second volume has benefited from numerous remarkable professional collaborations and scientific contributions under the joint authorship and review of Drs Christos Giannou, Marco Baldan and Åsa Molde. I feel certain that it will provide a new point of reference for health professionals engaged in providing lifesaving services in often hazardous environments. Most fortuitously, the publication of Volume 2 coincides with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The historical importance of this anniversary for professionals engaged in war surgery cannot be overstated. In 1863, a group of Swiss citizens created the International Committee of Geneva for the Relief of Wounded Soldiers, which heralded the dawn of a new consciousness regarding the fate of the wounded left incapacitated on the battlefield. The history of the ICRC and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement is intimately interwoven with the development of war surgery, both as a professional discipline and as an ethos in times of armed conflict.