Mental Health Situation and Resilience among Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Abstract

Africa is the continent most prone to strife like wars, political violence, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and violations of human rights. Vices like these result in mental health problems among children and adolescents. Children and adolescents who have experienced war, political violence, diseases or severe violations of human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, tend to exhibit mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and conduct disorders and many other psychological problems. Despite exposure to these stressful and traumatic experiences, survivors of these events tend to show resilience due to individual, family and community factors particularly family, peer, school and community support. Large scale interventions such as social cash transfer programs and small scale interventions such as Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy have proven to improve social capital of children and adolescents, and build their resilience amidst and after adversities.