Damned nations

OVERALL RATING Very good

STRENGTHS Poignant and compelling

WEAKNESSES None

AUDIENCE Health professionals and the general public interested in global health

Author Dr Samantha Nutt’s years of development work in conflict zones, including Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, are chronicled in Damned Nations. A public health–trained family physician, Dr Nutt’s particular area of interest is women’s health. The book presents compelling narratives about the stark realities faced by citizens in conflict zones.

While encouraging participation in global health initiatives, Dr Nutt also makes an effort to outline the potential issues that might arise from aid. The book provides a sobering distillation of the common pitfalls that can occur with official development assistance, as well as the more concerning trends of volunteer tourism or “voluntourism,” and the proliferation of new nongovernmental organizations lacking appropriate development training, notably in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Dr Nutt finishes by outlining practical steps readers can take to address the problems of war and poverty: seek education, become engaged citizens, give to worthy charities, and lobby for improvements to official development assistance policy. Readers are encouraged to evaluate charities thoroughly and to move toward regular, long-term charitable contributions rather than 1-time disaster-based giving.

Damned Nations provides an intimate portrait of war and empowers readers to take concrete actions in their own communities to address global inequity.

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