The joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, and Tehran’s subsequent regional retaliation, caused the most significant energy disruption since the 1970s.
by Mehndi Alush
Canada is thousands of kilometers away from recent wars in the Middle East, but significant public health impacts can be felt here, from rising energy costs and worsening food insecurity to new pressures on health-care access and increased anxiety in our communities. Preparing for global instability at home can no longer be an afterthought.
The joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, and Tehran’s subsequent regional retaliation, caused the most significant energy disruption since the 1970s. In Canada and around the world, gas prices have risen, with analysts warning of further volatility.
The increase hits hardest for low-income families, single parents, rural and remote communities, and people living with chronic diseases. Higher fuel costs lead to higher grocery bills, worsening food insecurity and deepening poverty pressures. Fertilizer shortages from petrochemical disruptions will push food inflation higher. This revelation comes at a time when nearly 10 million people, including 2.5 million children, are already living in Canada, about 25 percent of the population. Food-insecure householdsAnd more than 2 million Canadians rely on food banks every month. A system already under stress must now prepare for more severe impacts.
Rising fuel costs also limit access to healthcare for people who have to travel long distances, especially in rural and remote areas. In the long run, sustained inflation may make it more difficult to get timely care for vulnerable patients.
The mental-health toll is equally important. Children experience explosions Post-traumatic stress and depression Recorded rates in past Middle East conflicts, often 30 to 50 percent. Adults turn to substance abuse or develop chronic anxiety. But suffering is not limited to fire.
Thousands of Iranian families in Canada are living in “suspended grief,” watching the horror unfold in real time, waiting for news, unsure if loved ones are alive. Their grief cannot progress because the loss is ongoing and intangible. At the same time, Jewish communities fear increased hostility towards them. As we have seen since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, complex grief and mental health challenges are arriving at our clinics today, lengthening our waiting lists. We need to increase the level of mental health and trauma-informed care now.
When bombs fall on hospital, pharmaceutical and public health infrastructure, health systems collapse and disease surveillance collapses. Prolonged sanctions and conflict have crippled Iran’s health infrastructure, increasing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks. The Ukraine war taught us that conflict can accelerate the spread of multi-drug-resistant TB and disrupt HIV treatment, as happened later in Canada. If war continues or spreads to Lebanon, Syria or Iraq, Canada must prepare for an increase in the need for mental-health support and continuity-of-care management.
Environmental risks are also increasing. Bombs ignite oil facilities, industrial sites and buildings, releasing toxins that cause cancer and other diseases and threaten the health of the planet. And there are unimaginable but real nuclear risks; Not mushroom clouds but hits near sensitive facilities that can leak radiation across borders.
Canada’s health is integral to global stability. We should strengthen support for the communities most affected by these shocks before they overwhelm our systems This means investing in food security, increasing access to care, implementing trauma-informed care, implementing school-based mental-health programs, and adopting care models proven effective in the Syria and Ukraine crises. The diaspora community urgently needs this support.
If there is one lesson in this crisis, it is that resilient food systems and social protection are not abstract policy goals; They shield against the next shock. As the Middle East burns, Canadians feel the heat in our gas tanks, grocery bills, clinic waiting lists and therapy rooms. Global crises may not be global; They can become endemic. Canada must be prepared for the consequences to protect Canadians at home.
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Previously published with on healthdebate.ca Creative Commons License
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