War Child's Care System is addressing the mental health of children in conflict zones with evidence-based care.
Dr. Mark Jordans, Director of Research and Development at War Child Alliance joins this episode of Stories of Impact Podcast to discuss how War Child's innovative, evidence-based Care System is promoting psychosocial wellbeing and reducing the impact of conflict and war on children's mental health.
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Approximately 468 million children worldwide are currently living in areas affected by armed conflict, according to recent data from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Save the Children. That translates to more than one in six children on the planet living within a 50km radius of armed violence, a statistic that's double what it was in the mid-1990s.
"A child affected by conflict requires a lot more than basic necessities like drinking water, sufficient food and a roof over its head," says Jordans. "Those are absolutely the priorities, but there's also a lot of mental health suffering that goes along with these humanitarian contexts such as war, and we need to address these, for the wellbeing and development of children and equally, of adults." He and the team at War Child advocate for mental health needs to be "addressed simultaneously" as part of attending to issues such as nutrition, shelter, and other necessities. "They're not distinct. They're not sequential, but actually part and parcel of adequate response in humanitarian settings."
To facilitate this, War Child has built a suite of nine "Core Interventions developed to address the urgent needs of conflict-affected children and their communities." This unique Care System features tools that help young people in these conflict-affected regions regain control of their lives and rebuild trust in themselves and others. The Care System promotes and improves children’s mental health and wellbeing through pyschosocial support, promote child protection, and improve the access and quality of education. One of the key interventions included in the system is called TeamUp. Developed by War Child, Save the Children, and UNICEF Netherlands, TeamUp is focused on themes like developing friendships, reducing stress, and dealing with fear. TeamUp includes adapted versions of games like tag or relay — activities that make it easier for children to engage. The aim is to help the participants "relieve stress and tension in the body while creating a sense of security within themselves and others."
“To meet the increasingly complex and urgent needs of the growing number of conflict-affected children, urgent innovation is required.”
Part of the success of the TeamUp intervention is that it involves both the mind and the body, and that it can be offered in a variety of locations, such as in a refugee context or other community centers. "It was developed to respond in the Netherlands when we got a large influx of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands, so much so that, there was emergency shelters being developed and we were able to tap into and use a lot of the experience that we had in working with children in many of the war affected countries where War Child is active," explains Jordans.
War Child has research infrastructure and collaborations in Uganda, Burundi, Colombia, South Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, and elsewhere. Jordans shares a recent evaluation of TeamUp in the Bidibidi refugee settlement in Northern Uganda. For the study, about 550 children were "divided over TeamUp and a control group, randomly allocated." Jordans and his fellow researchers were able to show that children participating in TeamUp had "significantly better outcomes in terms of wellbeing, had significantly better outcomes in self-reported social connectedness. They had a marked reduction in traumatic stress compared to that control group. We were also able to demonstrate that even six months later, those results were still maintained in the TeamUp group and still better than the control group."
Around 20% of children who've been exposed to war contexts have more severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation, says Jordans and for them, TeamUp alone is "not enough." To help this group, War Child employs a simple tool for teachers and facilitators to identify children needing more mental health care. This tool, consisting of vignettes, illustrations, and three questions, helps community gatekeepers, such as teachers and facilitators of programs like TeamUp detect children in need, who can then be referred for further care. Known as EASE (Early Adolescent Skills for Emotion), this tool was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) with input from War Child on evaluations in Lebanon and Jordan.
Listen to the podcast for more insights about how interventions like TeamUp might be scaled. You'll also hear more about other components of War Child's Care System including Be There, a program that supports the wellbeing of the childrens' parents and caregivers.
Built upon the award-winning video series of the same name, Templeton World Charity Foundation’s “Stories of Impact” podcast features stories of new scientific research on human flourishing that translate discoveries into practical tools. Bringing a mix of curiosity, compassion, and creativity, journalist Richard Sergay and producer Tavia Gilbert shine a spotlight on the human impact at the heart of cutting-edge social and scientific research projects supported by TWCF.
