CHILDREN AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF WAR

Abstract

ABSTRACT It’s predicted that almost 10 million children as died at wars during the last decade, almost 300 thousand children fight more than 30 engagement area. Situations arising from armed conflict effect first of all children in various ways for they are defenseless and vulnerable. Children health are affected in different ways by experiencing death, injuries, disablement, torture, rape, diseases psychological effects, forcing to migration, child soldiers, lack of education, loss of parents, socio-cultural changes because of war. Thousands of children die or become permanently disabled because of injuries of firearms or mines during war. However it’s accepted as war crime in Convention on the Rights of the Children, children are employed as soldiers, exposed to sexual harassment. War and violence force millions of people to leave their homes. During migration, 5% of children lose their parents. Mortality is very high among children separated from their families because of war.85% of the deaths are seen within the first 2 days after reaching to refugee camps. Other children are experiencing problems, such as loss of language and tradition, and disapproval in the regions. For these reasons, thousands of children are forced to carry the negative effects of the war throughout their lives. Destructive effect of war would manifest in different ways, degrees because of the factors as age, gender. Girls experience more emotional way the effects of war; while boys internalized the situation, reflects their feelings with more behavioral disorder. Gender, age, developmental period features should be considered in rehabilitation woks and coping mechanism for short-long terms should be composed in that direction. Children, who exposed physical, sexual harassment, lose one’s family members should have priority for rehabilitation. A society which has unhealthy children couldn’t be healthy society in the future. Therefore implementation of rehabilitation programs for war-torn children should be bringing into force as soon as possible. It’s important to act in the frame of Convenient of Rights of Children by considering the future well-being of the society. It’s tried to assess health effects of war to children, approaches to war-torn children in this article.