Written by: La Tabla/ Data Journalism Platform 15 SEP 2025
A study, published in The Lancet Global Health by economists Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuelan) and Silvio Rendon (Peruvian), along with Mark Weisbrot, uncovers that unilateral international sanctions, primarily led by the United States, cause an annual death toll akin to that of armed conflict. The research, which analyzed data from 152 countries between 1971 and 2021, estimates that these measures result in approximately 564,000 deaths each year— a figure that surpasses the average annual combat fatalities (106,000) and is comparable to the total mortality of certain wars, including civilian casualties.
The impact is particularly severe on children, with over half (51%) of all deaths attributed to the sanctions between 1970 and 2021 occurring in children under the age of 5. The mechanism behind this humanitarian crisis is the significant deterioration of health systems. Sanctions hinder trade and access to foreign currency, drastically limiting the import of medicines, medical equipment, and food, while also reducing public revenue allocated to health care spending.
The analysis concludes that the human costs of these sanctions are devastating, necessitating an urgent reassessment of their use as a tool of foreign policy. The findings underscore that their impact is just as lethal as that of a war, with the added grim reality that the most vulnerable groups, particularly children, are the primary victims.