Narrative Review of Resilience Strategies in War-Torn Health Systems

Mukamana Sandra Gisele

 

School of Applied Health Sciences Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT

Health systems in war-torn settings face unprecedented challenges, including destruction of infrastructure, workforce attrition, disrupted supply chains, and governance breakdowns. Despite these threats, resilience strategies can enable systems to maintain essential services and recover functionality during and after conflict. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from diverse protracted conflict contexts, including Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, and Afghanistan, to identify key resilience mechanisms. These mechanisms encompass adaptive governance and leadership, health workforce management, service delivery modifications, health information continuity, infrastructure protection, community engagement, financing strategies, and coordination with external actors. Comparative analysis highlights recurring patterns and context-specific adaptations, emphasizing the importance of decentralized service delivery, contingency planning, and community participation. The review also identifies gaps in equity, ethical considerations, and integrated recovery-resilience frameworks. Findings underscore the critical need for policymakers and practitioners to adopt multifaceted resilience strategies tailored to local conditions to safeguard health service continuity in conflict-affected settings.

Keywords: Health systems resilience, armed conflict, service continuity, governance, protracted crises.

CITE AS: Mukamana Sandra Gisele. (2026). Narrative Review of Resilience Strategies in War-Torn Health Systems. IDOSR JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 11(1):76-81. https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSRJSR/2026/11.1.7681