Expanding the scope of how we think about humanitarian aid to include addressing mental health
In this talk powered by TED at the Templeton Annual Meeting 2024, Mark Jordans, director of War Child Alliance's Research and Development team shares how evidence-based care systems are expanding the scope of how we think about humanitarian aid to include addressing mental health.
War Child Alliance's Care System is a suite of various scientifically tested interventions designed to address the urgent needs of conflict-affected children and their communities. "Through a combination of psychosocial support, child protection, and education, the care system supports children to take their lives into their own hands and regain trust in themselves and others," says the organization on their website.
While humanitarian organizations provide many services to aid conflict-affected youth, their effectiveness is frequently uncertain. A research team at War Child, King's College London, and the University of Amsterdam evaluates intervention effectiveness and quality, even with non-specialist implementers.
"Team Up" is a mental health promotion program using play, movement, and social activities to improve well-being by reducing stress and strengthening emotional regulation and social skills. Research has shown that increased psychological well-being, positive school attitudes, and reduced traumatic stress symptoms after 12 sessions of the program. Even many months later, children who participated in Team Up showed better outcomes compared to those who did not. Hear more about this study in the video below, and don't miss Mark Jordans' recent Stories of Impact podcast conversation for more details.
In the above video, Jordans also notes another tool War Child has developed: "ReachNow." ReachNow has been developed to help facilitators detect children with severe mental health needs, significantly increasing access to specialized care. In conflict settings, over 95% of children in need of mental health services are not treated, but ReachNow increases help-seeking behavior 17-fold. War Child also focuses on support for parents, teachers, and communities.
Alexandra Bleile is lead researcher in Research and Development at War Child. We asked her to introduce herself and tell us a little about War Child, noting their random-controlled trial (RCT) with refugee children in Northern Uganda.
“Seeing a young girl in Uganda’s Bidibidi refugee settlement laugh and embrace the same routine as a boy in an asylum centre in Drenthe - that sight never gets old,” says Bleile on War Child's website. “The joy and calm children experience from being in the moment is universal.”