People with psychiatric disorders in humanitarian emergencies are primarily neglected and lack appropriate treatment. This results in unnecessary suffering, stigmatisation, loss of dignity and increased mortality. This paper describes the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières in providing emergency psychiatric treatment as a component of a busy medical programme in Mweso, a conflict affected region of North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interventions included treatment with psychotropic medications by non specialist physicians and counselling by lay counsellors.

The 1994 Rwandan genocide subjected thousands of women to rape, many of whom became pregnant as a result. Although mothers and their children born as a result of those rapes are an at risk population, there is very little research or reported programmes addressing their needs. This paper describes a pilot community group counselling programme for these mothers. Quantitative and qualitative data show the groups to be effective. The results suggest that the groups helped the mothers connect with others in a similar situation.

The changing nature of armed conflict has been characterised by the use of children as soldiers. The disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of these children back into society has become a primary concern for post conflict African countries seeking to achieve a sustainable peace. Studies have emphasised the crucial role of a participatory approach as an important factor in ensuring success in reintegration programmes.

This paper explores protective and risk factors for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing among 300 child solders (verified minors) through a longitudinal study. Both the Hopkins Symptoms Check list and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (civilian version) were used to measure mental health problems, while the Generalised Estimating Equation was used to identify both the protective and risk factors over time. Anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder decreased over a nine month period, while depression prevalence did not change.

In many places around the globe, over many centuries, adults have forcibly involved children in war. In more recent times, these forcibly involved children have come to be collectively referred to as ‘child soldiers’, in an attempt to address the crises that these children experience within war conditions. However, recent field experiences from northern Uganda show that children, formerly abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, as well as the community they return to, do not consider themselves as soldiers.

This article addresses the long term impact of having been a child soldier in Yumbe District, Uganda. Within this district, a group of former child soldiers fell beyond the scope of almost all reintegration initiatives from the time a peace agreement was signed in 2002. Ten years after the youths’ return from the bush, the authors used a qualitative approach to understand their present situation. It was found that serious grievances were still expressed by the former child soldiers towards organisations that had promised them some form of support, but did not fulfil these promises.

This paper examines the reintegration experiences of a group of demobilised youth who were associated with various armed groups during the course of ongoing armed conflict in Colombia. In particular, the paper traces how the realities of forced migration and displacement profoundly shape and inform their reintegration experiences. Drawing upon qualitative interviews with a sample of 22 former child soldiers, the authors highlight the key challenges and impacts participants faced as a result of forced migration and displacement, particularly in relation to family, place, and (in) security.

Why a Special Section on the rehabilitation processes of former child soldiers: children and adolescents in armed con£ict War and armed con£ict have had a huge impact on the lives of countless children
and young people throughout history, and up to today. During con£ict, children and their families are exposed to a series of extreme and potentially traumatising events, such as killings, massacres, rape,

Wie gewend is aan een leven in Nederland zal moeilijk kunnen invoelen wat het betekent om ergens te wonen, te proberen om een bestaan te onderhouden onder omstandigheden van voortdurende onderdrukking of gevaar. De wereld kent vele oorden waar overheden er niet in slagen hun burgers te beschermen. Op bereisbare afstand, zo blijkt. De Europese Unie ziet zich geconfronteerd met een omvangrijke stroom vluchtelingen, afkomstig uit de continenten ten oosten en zuiden van Europa. Migratie is zo oud als de mens en kent door de hele geschiedenis heen pieken en dalen.

De werkkamer bevindt zich deze keer binnen het kantoor van GGD GHOR Nederland in Utrecht. Hier treffen we René Stumpel: arts en ruim 20 jaar werkzaam bij de GGD Gooi en Vechtstreek, op dit moment als directeur publieke gezondheid, maar ook nog steeds als forensisch geneeskundige. Daarvoor verzorgde hij onderwijs voor GGD artsen. Al met al is hij meer dan 30 jaar actief op het snijvlak van publieke gezondheid en calamiteiten. Het gesprek voert via ervaringen tijdens het werk die indruk op hem hebben gemaakt, naar zijn affiniteit – en ook ambities – met de psychosociale hulp bij rampen.