Many areas of the globe today face continuous armed conflict, with more and more populations caught in the crossfire. This has been true in both Afghanistan and Burundi where populations have to cope with the psychological and social effects of ongoing collective violence. While living and working in these countries, the author conducted research on the impact of these complex humanitarian emergencies on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, and on ways to miti gate these impacts.
His findings as published in this PhD thesis are based on the following questions:

Background
Determinants of cross-national differences in the prevalence of mental illness are poorly understood.
Aims
To test whether national post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates can be explained by (a) rates of exposure to trauma and (b) countries' overall cultural and socioeconomic vulnerability to adversity.
Method

This field report summarises the experience and lessons learnt by the author, who was deployed as an International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies psychosocial delegate to Liberia for the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in July and August 2014. Psychosocial issues encountered in the field, including fear in local communities and among aid workers, the spreading of rumours, heath measures interfering with traditional rituals and stigmatisation are discussed in detail. Also included are suggestions for dealing with these issues and actions taken during the mission.

The mental health needs of people affected by emergencies are significant, but often overlooked by health-care providers. The world is facing an unprecedented number of humanitarian emergencies arising from conflict and disasters. In 2014, nearly 60 million people were forcibly displaced due to conflict, the highest number on record. Climatic and geological hazards continue to take their toll, as seen recently following the devastating earthquake in Nepal, cyclone in Vanuatu and flooding in China, Malawi and Myanmar.