Homicide much more prevalent than terrorism

Deaths from international terrorism activities in developed countries are 208 times fewer than those caused by other homicide, a New Zealand study has found.

The study was carried out by two researchers from the University of Otago's Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

It used United States State Department data for 39 developed countries over 10 years, to consider the public health burden of international terrorism.

The researchers, Nick Wilson and George Thomson, found even with the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US taken into account, the American death rate from terrorism was still 60 times less than other forms of homicide in the US.

The study identified 32 international terrorist attacks between 1994 and 2003 that caused fatalities among non-combatants.

It says although the quality of the data available could be improved, there was still a clear indication that the burden from international terrorism in developed countries was small compared with that from other homicide.

The researchers note in their study that threats to public health from HIV/Aids, other naturally occurring infectious diseases and global climate change have also been described as greater threats than international terrorism.

"Mortality from violent conflict within and between states is also a major global public health problem," they said.

But they also note that some of the resources spent combating international terrorism could have a side benefit in areas like improving disease surveillance and crime prevention.

To minimise international terrorism associated with conflict in other parts of the world, developed countries could also play stronger roles in conflict resolution, the authors concluded.

Developed countries could also consider supporting sustainable structural change to alleviate poverty and global inequalities, and engaging in dialogue to reduce tensions between conflicting ideologies.

The study has been published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

- NZPA