Armed Conflict and Children: Systematic review on interventions for improving health and well being outcomes

Keywords: children, health, evidence, conflict
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child ensures that children have basic rights and need protection from several threats that impact their health and well-being including violence, exploitation, abuse and lack of basic needs, child labor, child marriage, female genital mutilation, child trafficking, disasters, and armed conflicts/wars.
By focusing on the long-term consequences of climate change – through disasters, armed conflicts, mass displacement on children and their caregivers, we ask: "What are the consequences of disasters, armed conflict and mass displacement on children and their caregivers and how can a climate justice lens help in developing a long-term framing of this crises?"
It emerges that a proportionally a large number of children are affected in conflict. The systematic review provides an overview of known health and development outcomes (including nutrition, mental health, and displacement), discusses how conflict affected children of different age groups, as well as special groups such as newborns, children with disabilities, Children associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAFAAG), and separated or unaccompanied children. Finally, the discussion will analyse evidence for interventions across different sectors – mental health, sexual and reproductive health, protection, shelter and other areas. The main challenges include lack of formalised approaches facilitating participation, vulnerability and capacities of children. We have limited data on what works and doesn’t work in interventions for children in armed conflict.
This understanding will help us reframe climate justice discussions with grounded evidence and help in developing interventions that will tackle these issues in an informed manner.