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CHILDREN in West and Central Africa are suffering extreme psychological issues as an ongoing result of civil war, AIDS and child trafficking and desperately need proper psychological support, a new report by a Plan International says.

Alarmingly, research conducted by Plan International has revealed that young people are experiencing severe and ongoing effects from conflict and crises. Even some children not directly caught up in such dramatic events can be badly affected because they are in the care of severely distressed adults, presenting a large risk to the development of the next generation.

Plan International’s unique study psychologically assessed more than 1000 children and young people chosen at random in disaster-affected communities in Liberia, Togo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

Much of the report makes for disturbing reading. For example, of former child soldiers interviewed in Liberia (most of whom were ‘recruited’ by force), 60% said they had witnessed another child being punished to death; 87% said they had seen a family member threatened to be killed or actually killed; and of the same group, 84% had found themselves “surrounded by, lying underneath or stepping on” dead bodies.

Ian Wishart, national executive director of Plan in Australia, said the research not only revealed a previously not well understood aspect of conflict, trafficking and disease, but a problem of distressing magnitude.

“Although most people would expect some level of severe distress in children who have experienced extreme situations, it would have been hard to predict the extent to which many children in West Africa appear to be suffering.

“The international community cannot afford to leave these children to suffer in silence. If we don’t act, they are at risk of passing on their distress to their children and sowing the seeds of a precarious future for countries that have already suffered enough.”

Silent Suffering - carried out in conjunction with Family Health International, reveals children are made more vulnerable by the moods of parents and adult guardians who themselves are struggling to cope with often tragic and difficult circumstances caused by prolonged conflict.

Psychologists and researchers admitted they were taken aback by the distressing stories they uncovered, such as this young girl, 12, from Burkina Faso.

“In the bush we were surprised by soldiers. They cut the throats of my father and his third wife, and they burned my big brother alive. My little sister and I were hiding in the bushes, watching everything; when the soldiers left, we ran away past the bodies – we had no idea where we were going.”

Uniquely, the study interviewed control groups of children who were not orphans, had not been abducted to join fighting forces, had not been trafficked, and so had not been directly caught up in violent experiences.

The surprise for the researchers was that levels of trauma among these control groups were still high, leading to the conclusion that they had been affected by a spill-over atmosphere of violence brought about by years of social instability.

Levels of mental illness and suicidal tendencies uncovered were extremely high, said researchers. In Sierra Leone, assessed suicide risk among children with no parental support was 70% in girls, 80% of boys – with 56 of one group of 183 interviewees (30%) already having attempted to kill themselves.

Mobile units made up of trauma counsellors and psychologists were set up to give emergency counselling and treatment to those children judged most at risk, including former child soldiers, orphans and trafficked children.

Plan is now calling for:

• Increased child protection – a wide range of measures including: training in children’s rights, community support programmes and creation of child-safe spaces
  
  
• Increased psycho-social support – including widening the availability of quality services, training to help identify vulnerable children and establishment of permanent mobile trauma healing units
  
  
• Greater social protection – better access to reproductive and other health care, improved education access and livelihood opportunities

Ends

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Further Information

Download a four page executive summary, including key results by country

For more information, including interview opportunities, quotes from children, footage & images contact:

David Cook - Media Officer
Plan in Australia
media@plan.org.au
(03) 9672 3652  |  0448 816 900