Every month, thousands of people are killed in large-scale political violence. These conflict are highly destructive – beyond the
immediate mortality and morbidity, conflicts lead to profound long-term consequences that impede the realisation of sustainable development. They severely hinder growth and poverty reduction, and they have severe detrimental effects
on public health with the adverse impacts felt for decades after the shooting stops. Conflict is ‘development in reverse’.
Preventing and containing armed conflict is consequently high on policy-makers’ agenda. Early action, however, requires early warning. With a good understanding of where armed conflict will occur in the near future, for how long it
will persist, and how lethal it will be, concerned governments, IGOs, and NGOs may engage in diplomacy efforts, alert the international community about the situation, prepare for humanitarian assistance, and allocate resources where
most needed.
This is what ViEWS offers.