War is not healthy. Political violence and infant health outcomes in Colombia

Abstract

Objectives To establish and quantify the effect of the internal armed conflict in Colombia on infant health, particularly birth weight. Methods This document explores time differences in relation to the impact of the internal armed conflict in Colombia, measured by municipal homicide rates, on infant health, quantified as infant mortality and birth weight. Based on individual data from the 1995 and 2000 Colombian National Demographic and Health Surveys, along with annual municipal data on violence and economic performance, results obtained from two biological siblings are compared using a maternal fixed logistic regression, as one was born in a violent era and the other during a peaceful moment. Results Political violence negatively affected infant health outcomes during the peak of violence experienced by Colombia in the 1990s, with worse outcomes for male infants than for females. Controlling fixed maternal effects shows a three times greater probability of being born with low birth in infants born during increased violence, compared to their siblings born in more peaceful times. Conclusions These results make visible all the effects of intense and long-lasting armed conflicts, as is the case of Colombia, since not only direct actors involved in conflict are affected, but also infants who show worse health outcomes. These results allows targeting policies for reducing the effects on populations in conflict or during the reconstruction period; in this case, the provision of maternal care during the gestational period and special care for newborns in areas under high violence levels should be a priority.