UNITED NATIONS, Mar 21 (IPS) – Over the past two decades, conversations surrounding mental wellness have entered the cultural consciousness in the western world. Despite this, these topics receive far less media exposure in the Global South, particularly in areas that have been entrenched in warfare, where the onset of harmful mental health conditions are prevalent.
Protracted warfare often hit women and children the hardest, with poverty, food insecurity, a cessation of schooling, disease outbreaks, and social stigma compounding levels of psychological distress in these populations. According to estimates from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over 473 million children currently live in conflict-affected areas, the largest numbers since World War II.
In areas that have experienced long-term bouts of warfare, such as the Gaza Strip, the limited availability of resources and humanitarian aid has made living conditions nearly inhospitable. Since 2023, routine bombardment in Gaza has decimated homes and other critical infrastructures, spurred widespread displacement, and led to the dwindling of basic services, such as food, clean water, healthcare, and education.
“Children in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that deprives them of a childhood,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Their schools are bombed, homes destroyed, and families torn apart. They lose not only their safety and access to basic life-sustaining necessities, but also their chance to play, to learn, and to simply be children,” added Russell.
According to UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram, roughly 100 percent of the children in Gaza urgently require psychosocial support. The absence of formal schooling for over a year in the enclave has greatly exacerbated rates of mental distress in children.
Education is considered a fundamental human right, and is a necessary tool that assists in the mental and social development of children. Without education, children are deprived of an environment in which they can build critical skills and emotional intelligence, which will help them navigate the harsh conditions of war.
“Education is the only asset the Palestinian people have not been dispossessed of. They have proudly invested in the education of their children in the hope for a better future. Today, more than 625,000 deeply traumatised school-aged children are living in the rubble in Gaza. Bringing them back to learning should be our collective priority. Failing to do that will not only lead to a lost generation but also sow the seeds for more extremism, hatred and violence”, said Philippe Lazzarini, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner General.
The societal impacts of war on mental health can also be seen in Haiti. Widespread gang violence has created an environment that enables perpetrators to commit sexual violence, which most often tagrets women and girls, and receive almost guaranteed impunity. Social stigma and fear of reprisals often prevents victims from seeking justice or receiving physical and psychosocial healthcare.
“Exposure to this level of violence impacts children in a multitude of ways. They are victims first and foremost. Those who have (experienced) horrendous abuses will require support to deal with the mental trauma or the consequences of that as they go forward in their lives. They will need psycho-social support and access to reintegration and rehabilitation, much like demobilized child soldiers in other parts of the world,” said William O’Neill, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner’s Designated Expert on Haiti, in a recent interview in Geneva.
Additionally, exposure to protracted conflict and large-scale devastation is correlated with the onset of a host of mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and even personality or psychotic disorders.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost all people affected by conflict will experience some form of mental distress as a result. A study conducted by WHO states that among the sample size, roughly 22 percent of people who have been exposed to war or conflict from 2012 to 2022, roughly 22 percent will have depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Furthermore, 10 percent of people who are exposed to traumatic war conditions will develop behaviors that will disrupt their daily lives including psychosomatic problems, insomnia, and stomach aches.
A common byproduct of war is displacement, which is also correlated to the onset of detrimental mental health conditions. In a study conducted by Matthew Porter and Nick Haslam titled, Predisplacement and postdisplacement factors associated with mental health of refugees and internally displaced persons: a meta-analysis, worldwide populations of refugees and non-displaced persons were examined.
The results indicated that displaced or refugee populations were significantly more likely to develop “poorer psychopathological outcomes” than non-displaced persons. The study underscored the importance of education, socioeconomic status, access to essential resources, positive economic development and suitable living conditions, all of which are detrimentally impacted or eliminated entirely by protracted conflict.
It is crucial for civilians who have experienced worsened mental health in protracted crises to have access to psychosocial support. The onset of harmful mental health conditions often results in dangerous behaviors such as aggression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse, all of which exacerbate humanitarian crises. The availability of psychosocial support is an essential first step in fostering redevelopment and recovery.
“I do not see the provision of mental health and psychosocial support as less important than providing a child and his/her family with shelter and food. On the contrary, mental health and psychosocial support should always be an integral part of any response that aims to ensure children’s optimal development and wellbeing in emergencies. Moreover, it is important to integrate a mental health and psychosocial support lens into the delivery of services designed to meet basic needs such as food or shelter – for example, ensuring that food distribution uses methods that are empowering, participatory, and promote dignity,” said Aaron Greenberg, UNICEF’s Senior Regional Advisor for Europe and Central Asia.
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