FOREWORD

The absence of adequate care and treatment for war-wounded prompted the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the adoption of the first Geneva Convention in 1864. Today, the ICRC promotes respect for the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, which afford protection for all victims of war: the wounded, the shipwrecked, prisoners and civilians. Furthermore, they protect the medical and nursing staff who care for the sick and the wounded.

Over the last 15 years, the provision of surgical care for victims of war, whether civilians or combatants, has occupied an important place in the ICRC's activities. Hundreds of existing hospitals in many of the world's conflict zones have received protection and supplies via the ICRC. Large, independent ICRC hospitals have admitted more than 50,000 wounded in the conflicts in Cambodia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Chechnya. The experience of setting up and managing these hospitals for war-wounded is presented in this book. The authors are nurses who have held key positions; their accumulated experience is enormous and impressive and their opinions well-founded.

This book is much more than a practical guide. It is a unique product of commitment, clarity of thought and sheer hard work; it has been written at a time when treatment of the wounded is no longer the exclusive domain of military medical services. It should not only be read with attention but also be kept close at hand as a reference work.

Dr Pierre Perrin
Chief Medical Officer
International Committee of the Red Cross