Murder, suicide, disease surges under Greek austerity
When Greece's economy took a plunge, murders and disease rates soared, according to a study that suggests the impact of the European nation's austerity cuts may be worse than expected. Suicide and murder rates climbed from 2007 to 2009, particularly among men, and unusual outbreaks of malaria, West Nile virus and HIV took clinicians by surprise, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Public Health on Thursday.
When Greece's economy took a plunge, murders and disease rates soared, according to a study that suggests the impact of the European nation's austerity cuts may be worse than expected.
Suicide and murder rates climbed from 2007 to 2009, particularly among men, and unusual outbreaks of malaria, West Nile virus and HIV took clinicians by surprise, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Public Health on Thursday.
The decline in health and rising violence came as Greece's once robust economy collapsed into recession following the global economic crisis of 2007. The government implemented austerity measures that included a major downsizing of the Ministry of Health, where spending fell nearly 24 per cent from 2009 to 2011.
"We were expecting that these austerity policies would negatively affect health services and health outcomes, but the results were much worse than we imagined," said lead author Elias Kondilis, a researcher at Aristotle University.
We were expecting that these austerity policies would negatively affect health services and health outcomes, but the results were much worse than we imagined
Among the general population of some 11 million people, suicide rates rose 16 per cent and murders climbed nearly 26 per cent from 2007 to 2009, according to the findings, which draw on Greek government data. Meanwhile, deaths from infectious diseases increased 13 per cent in those two years.