The Lancet seeks papers for a special issue on September 11A Decade On.
We invite submissions (research articles, reviews, health policy papers, and viewpoints) that address the short-term and long-term physical, mental, and public health consequences of the events that took place (and continue to take place) in New York, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other part of the world touched by September 11. We are also interested in how the war on terrorism has affected the services, outcomes, policies, and regulations made in the fight against chronic and acute diseases, domestically and worldwide.
The submission deadline is March 31, 2011. Registration for viewing the full call for papers is free, but if you don’t want to bother, here’s what it says:
It began on a Tuesday at 8:46 am. In an unprecedented event in the history of modern America, more than 3000 people lost their lives in the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, that morning in September, 2001. As the USA paused and watched in a state of shock, anger, panic, and fear, much of the world became one nation in expressing its grief at the loss of so many lives.
In New York City alone, as many as 400 000 survivors inhaled smoke and the residue of an estimated 100 000 L of fuel, 1·2 million tons of building material (such as glass, steel, concrete, and sheet rock), 2000 tons of asbestos, and 400 other chemicals that included hydrocarbons, dioxins, and polychlorinated furans. Some suffered large-scale trauma, while others later developed what is now known as the WTC cough syndrome.
The initial period of uncertainty was followed by a dramatic shift of US national priorities aimed towards safety, protection, and defence. The nation’s emphasis on health moved from ordinary care to emergency care. And its public health system was transformed from an unappreciated utility to a central component of national security. In 2002, the US Homeland Security Act was passed. This legislation prioritised federal preparedness for emergency and disaster response and care. By 2004, more than US$5·2 billion of the nation’s budget was allocated to bioterrorism preparedness.
Since 2001, the USA has launched two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The cost has so far been heavy for the American nation: 5739 of the 143 000 deployed troops have lost their lives, and the budget needed for the two operations is soon to pass $900 billion. The continuing lack of functioning national health systems, together with persisting violence, have only added to the political and economic instabilities in these two countries.
2011 marks the tenth anniversary of this unprecedented domestic event with global implications. It is an occasion to remember that warjust or notis not only about democracy, freedom, patriotism, glory, or humanitarian diplomacy. War is also about civilian casualties and the destruction of essential systems that support health and wellbeing. It will be a moment to reflect on how the world would have been different without September 11, 2001. It will be a time to think about what our nations have done right for human security and where they have made mistakes. It will be an opportunity to look forward, learning the lessons of the past decade.
To give space for these reflections, The Lancet will dedicate a special issue in 2011 to September 11a decade on. We invite submissions (research articles, reviews, health policy papers, and viewpoints) that address the short-term and long-term physical, mental, and public health consequences of the events that took place (and continue to take place) in New York, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other part of the world touched by September 11. We are also interested in how the war on terrorism has affected the services, outcomes, policies, and regulations made in the fight against chronic and acute diseases, domestically and worldwide.
To respond to our call for papers, please submit your original research article or opinion piece via our online submission system, stating in your cover letter that the submission is in response to this call. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2011.
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