GlobalPost’s “Pulse” blog reports on how civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) is affecting the public health system, leading to higher rates of child malnutrition and malaria. Citing a report (.pdf) from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the blog writes, “During the first quarter of 2013, MSF treated 33 percent more malaria cases in the Central African Republic than during the same period last year.” In addition, “[f]amilies have lost not only the food they harvested to feed their families, but also the grain stores they set aside for next year’s planting season,” the blog notes. “Pulse” includes comments from Ellen van der Velden, MSF’s head of mission in CAR; Philip Verwimp, an associate professor of development economics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles; and Richard Akresh, an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Stuart, 7/15).