This document provides information for WHO Member States, particularly low-income and middle-income countries, to strengthen preparedness and response plans with regard to the social and mental health consequences of biological and chemical attacks.
The message contained in this publication is clear: countries need a
public health system that can respond to the deliberate release of
chemical and biological agents. Regrettable though this message may
be, the use of poison gas in the war between Iraq and the Islamic
Republic of Iran in the 19...80s, the recent anthrax incidents in the United
States, and the attack with sarin nerve agent, six years earlier, on the
Tokyo underground, illustrate why it is necessary to prepare.
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Action on behalf of unaccompanied and separated children should be guided by principles enshrined in international standards. The validity of these principles has been confirmed by experience and lessons learnt from conflicts and natural disasters in recent years. The objective of the present public...ation is to outline the guiding principles which form the basis for action in this regard.
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