Terrorism-Related Attacks in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1970-2020: Analysis and Impact from a Counter-Terrorism Medicine Perspective

Abstract

Introduction:Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become a hotspot for global terrorism, with nearly 50% of global terror-related deaths occurring in SSA in 2021. To address growing terrorism-related health implications the field of counter-terrorism medicine (CTM) seeks to study the impacts of terrorism and implement healthcare initiatives. This study is a semi-quantitative analysis of terrorist-related activity in SSA from 1970-2020.Method:A retrospective analysis of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was performed for the region of SSA between 1970-2020. The number of attacks, deaths, and injuries, as well as primary weapons types, country where attacks occurred, and primary target types, were c..