Conflict-affected Area Research Articles

Art as a Window to Emotions: A Study on the Impact of Conflict on Children's Drawings

This research investigates how students from two different backgrounds in a conflict-affected area—one group being internally displaced (IDP) and the other residing in permanent homes—express their emotions through art. The study aims to understand the emotional experiences of these students and explore the potential therapeutic benefits of art for children in conflict-affected areas. Two experiments were conducted: in the first, students drew freely without specific instructions; in the second, they were asked to express their emotions through their drawings and provide reasons for their choices. In the first experiment, students mostly used dark and dull colors, suggesting feelings of sadness and anxiety. In the second experiment, IDP students used vibrant colors reflecting resilience, while town students used monochromatic shades likely due to their recent experiences with conflict. Living conditions and recent traumatic events significantly influence the emotional expressions in students' artwork. Art-based interventions can be tailored to address their unique emotional needs.

Whose security? Whose justice? Customary authorities in security and justice interventions in the Horn of Africa

ABSTRACT An evolving body of literature calls for politically realistic security and justice interventions that reflect the plurality of norms, power and legitimacy in the security and justice arena. In this arena, customary authorities may provide more security and justice than the state, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. They matter for peace, security, and development, but engaging them requires donors to navigate hidden power structures and illiberal traditions and ideas. In response to this complexity, this article proposes an approach for working with customary authorities – supporting fluid networks of customary, community and state agents and the political bargaining between them. Looking at a specifically conflict-affected area of the Horn, this paper provides an important survey of what we know, and what we don’t know and embraces customary authorities’ agency in change.

Barriers to Utilization of Postnatal Care Services within the First 48 Hours of Birth in North West Syria: A Barrier Analysis Study

Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify barriers to the utilization of postnatal care services among mothers and neonates in a conflict-affected area. Methods: This study involves a cross-sectional survey utilizing the Barrier Analysis (BA) approach, which is based on the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Reasoned Action. It explores up to 12 recognized determinants of behavior adoption. The survey was conducted in six communities located in Idlib and western rural Aleppo, representing both urban and rural areas for host and displaced populations in northwest Syria (Selwa, Abin Samaan, Sahara, Tal Elkaramej, Boz Ghaz, Koknaya). Data collection took place from 7th to 11th November 2021. Initially, screening questions were used to verify participants' eligibility for the survey. The interviewed mothers were then classified into two main groups: the first group consisted of mothers of newborns who attended postnatal care within the first 48 hours after birth (DOERS), while the second group comprised mothers of newborns who did not attend postnatal care within the first 48 hours after birth (NON-DOERS). From both groups, a random sample of 90 mothers of newborns aged 0-6 months was selected (45 DOERS and 45 NON-DOERS) out of a total of 418 respondents. Their answers were analyzed based on the 12 determinants included in the questionnaire. All collected data, including coded qualitative data and closed-ended questions, along with their frequencies, were entered into the Standard Barrier Analysis Tabulation Sheet Excel (SBATS). The odds ratio and P-value were calculated, considering results to be "significant" if the P-value was less than 0.05. Results: All demonstrated significant results are being compared between doers (mothers who attend postnatal care within the first 48 hours after birth) and non-doers (mothers who did not attend postnatal care within the first 48 hours after birth) according to the determinants and based on their recurrence, not their percentage. A total of 90 mothers with newborns aged 0-6 months (45 DOERS and 45 NON-DOERS) were interviewed, the findings revealed that 68% of the interviewed mothers had a normal delivery at health facilities, while 20% had a cesarean delivery, and 12% had a normal delivery at home. The barriers to PNC services included the long distance of the health facilities and the absence of transportation, social norms and traditions that prevent women from leaving home after childbirth, overcrowding at health facilities, fear of COVID-19 infection when visiting health facilities, absence of accompanying people, and the perception among mothers that they were unlikely to experience immediate post-birth problems. On the other hand, the enablers for accessing postnatal care services included community-based health support through community health workers, awareness of the available services, the mother's level of education, and a perceived understanding of the risks associated with medical complications that may arise after birth. Additionally, the availability of transportation and economic resources played a facilitating role in accessing postnatal care services. Conclusion: This study examines the low uptake of postnatal care (PNC) services for mothers and neonates in a conflict-affected area. Findings highlight barriers including limited maternal knowledge, inadequate health service coverage, transportation challenges, and social norms.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Residents of Conflict-Affected Towns

This cross-sectional study assesses the prevalence of and risk factors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder in a large conflict-affected area in Ethiopia.

Feasibility, Uptake, and Results of COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests among Refugees and Migrants in a Pilot Project in North-West Syria.

North-west Syria (NWS) is a conflict-affected and unstable area. Due to its limited health infrastructure, accessing advanced COVID-19 testing services is challenging. COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) have the potential to overcome this barrier. A pilot project was implemented to introduce Ag-RDTs in NWS, aiming to determine the feasibility, uptake, and results of Ag-RDTs and identify facilitators and barriers to testing with Ag-RDTs. A cross-sectional study design involving secondary analysis of data collected during the project was employed. A local non-governmental organization implemented 25,000 Ag-RDTs that were conducted cross-border by trained community health workers. In total, 27,888 eligible individuals were enrolled, 24,956 (89.5%) consented to test, and 121 (0.5%) were COVID-19-positive. The highest positivity was observed among those with severe COVID-19 symptoms (12.7%), with respiratory illnesses (2.5%), enrolled at hospitals in Afrin (2.5%), and healthcare workers (1.9%). A non-random sample of 236 individuals underwent confirmatory RT-PCR testing. Observed sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 80.0%, 96.1%, 91.4%, and 90.3%, respectively. Challenges included obtaining informed consent and conducting confirmatory testing. Ag-RDTs represent a feasible screening/diagnostic tool for COVID-19 infections in NWS, with nearly 90% uptake. Embedding Ag-RDTs into COVID-19 testing and screening strategies would be highly beneficial.

Methods Of Teaching Islamic Values Education Amid Conflict Situation: The Case Of Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) In Mindanao

Teaching Islamic values education is considered by Muslim educators as the solution to moral crisis encountered by contemporary Muslim society including the Bangsamoro in the conflict-affected area of Mindanao, Philippines. The purpose of the present paper is to re-examine the Bangsamoro Development Agency's (BDA) methods of teaching Islamic values education among its Muslim stakeholders in Mindanao. Through the use of the qualitative method of study, like content analysis of data gathered through library research and participant observation, the researcher found out that the BDA-tasked to determine, lead and manage development projects in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao-had successfully integrated Islamic values by applying the traditional Islamic method of education such as ta'lim, tarbiyyah, and ta'dib but through the language of modern education theory, adapted to the kind of situation they are in. Instead of using Islamic terminologies as such, the BDA used such term as experiential-learning method (lecturette, workshop, reflection and demonstration, and follow-through scheme). With this, the BDA had able to play its assigned role with the acceptance of its different stakeholders including government and non-government organizations. The present Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which is established as a product of the MILF’s struggle, may also consider BDA’s experience to institutionalize its moral governance initiative to address the perceived corruption, manipulation, and ill-governance in this government. Keywords: Bangsamoro Development Agency, teaching methods, Islamic values, Values education, Mindanao (Philippines)

Are life skills-based interventions effective to reduce peer problems among school-going adolescents in a conflict-affected rural area in Sri Lanka?

Official publication of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and was established in 1995. Full text articles available.Journal of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka (JCCPSL) has been recognised by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as a publication following the ICMJE Recommendations. The journal is indexed in DOAJ.Manuscripts are only accepted online through the portal of the JCCPSL https://jccpsl.sljol.info/ . The prospective authors must read carefully the section on Author Guidelines and prepare their manuscript accordingly. To submit a manuscript or to check the status of a submission the authors must first be registered in the JCCPSL Editorial Management System using an existing or newly created username and password. Next, choose the ‘Start Submission’ link and follow the five-step article submission process which is a simple and self-guided process.

COVID-19 and Peace in Conflict-Affected Areas

The relationship between COVID-19 and peace has been considered from a variety of perspectives. In addition, different empirical studies on the link between the pandemic and peace in conflict-affected areas exist. However, little work has been performed on examining these studies to highlight key findings on the theme of COVID-19 and peace in conflict-affected areas. A conflict-affected area is a country, or part of a country, where widespread violence or armed conflict was present when COVID-19 emerged in December 2019, or that was transitioning from recent armed conflict to peace by the time the disease arose. What do we know, so far, about how peace has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in conflict-affected areas? To address this question, this paper begins by recognizing the multidimensionality of peace and clarifying that the main aspects of peace in conflict-affected areas being considered in the article are relations between conflict parties, peace efforts, and peace processes. Afterwards, the paper discusses existing evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 and state responses to it on these components of peace in conflict-affected areas. The conflict-affected areas considered include Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, the Philippines, Yemen, and other zones. The central finding of the article is that the existing studies on COVID-19 and peace in conflict-affected areas present mixed findings. On the one hand, the virus generated opportunities for cooperation between conflict parties in some cases, such as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip of Israel-Palestine. However, on the other hand, it created conditions that enabled conflict and impeded peace efforts and processes in many or most conflict-affected areas. The paper explains that two factors that determined how the disease affected peace in conflict-affected and non-conflict-affected areas are the pre-COVID-19 political and socio-economic conditions in an area, and how state and non-state actors responded to the pandemic. The article closes with a summary of the discussion and identification of its major limitations.

English

Conflicts and displacements have high impact on mental health due to direct exposure to traumatic events and exposure to increased levels of daily stressors. Post-traumatic stress and other common disorders in conflict or post conflict settings have been well identified however recognition of substance use or abuse and what substances are in use, as well as predictors in conflict settings is sparse. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, types and predictors of recreational drug use among residents of a conflict affected area in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. This was a cross sectional study. We used consecutively sampling to interview 387 adults on recreational drug use in Mamfe a peri-urban town in conflict hit South West Region of Cameroon. Prevalence of ever and current use of recreational drugs were calculated, binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of ever and current use of recreational drugs. 264 (68.22%) participants had (ever) used drugs for recreational purposes and 252 (65.12%) were current users. Of the 10 different recreational drugs detected, Alcohol (65.4 = 36%), cigarette (25.32%) and opioids (12.14%) were the most consumed. After multivariate analyses, age range of 35 to 54 years (AOR 1.65, 95% CI 0.79 to 3.48), male gender (AOR 3.47, 95% CI 2.03 to 5.94), and being a student (AOR 10.51, 95% CI: 1.15 to 95.93) were significantly associated with higher likelihood of ever used drugs for recreational purposes. Being internally displaced (AOR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.44 to 1.50) significantly predicted higher likelihood of current use of recreational drugs. Employment status of housewife (AOR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.03 to 8.64) predicted lower odds of recreational drug use. Recreational drug use is common among people living in the conflict affected area of Southwest of Cameroon. while housewives are less likely to use recreational drugs. Mental health interventions in conflict settings in low income settings should target male adults >35years and students as these are at high risks of recreational drug use as well as IDP’s as they deal with multiple stressors due to displacement. Key words: Recreational drugs, predictors, conflict-affected area.

Doctors’ experiences providing sexual and reproductive health care at Catholic Hospitals in the conflict-affected North-West region of Cameroon: a qualitative study

BackgroundSexual and reproductive health (SRH) care services are essential to improving the lives of women and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Cameroon, the Catholic Church is one the largest non-governmental suppliers of health care, but its role in providing SRH care is restricted by religious norms.MethodsThis study explored doctors’ experiences and perceptions of providing SRH care at Catholic hospitals in a conflict-affected area in Cameroon by using 10 in-depth interviews with doctors from three Catholic hospitals in the North-West region. Qualitative coding was done with NVivo, and data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThree themes and seven categories were identified. The respondents described strict rules and a broad range of challenges to providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services. Nonetheless, there is evidence of doctors overcoming obstacles to providing SRH care despite the religious and political climate. However, whilst attempting to overcome challenges, participants described numerous examples of poor SRH care and health outcomes.ConclusionThe study highlights the importance of understanding the intersect between religion and women’s health, particularly in improving access to SRH for vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas. It further provides insight into doctors’ motivations in practicing medicine and how doctors cope and make efforts to provide care and minimize harm.

Conflict exposure and health: Evidence from the Gaza Strip

We study the impact of conflict exposure on health in the Gaza Strip using individual‐level longitudinal data and geo‐localized information on conflict‐related violent events. Results show that individuals living in localities exposed to more conflict events have a higher probability of suffering from a physical impairment and a chronic disease. Two mechanisms contribute to explain why living in conflict‐affected area increases the incidence of physical impairment: conflict increases the difficulty to reach health facilities and it decreases individual income. The conflict‐induced increase in the probability of having high blood pressure is instead consistent with the development of Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to the exposure to conflict‐related violent events.

Building a future through multicultural early childhood music classes in a conflict-affected city

The aim of this exploratory study was to understand the experience of several Palestinian and Jewish parents participating in a culturally mixed early childhood music class, held in a conflict-affected city. Collective music-making is considered to be a powerful way for people to connect and socialize, regardless of their backgrounds, and for them to get to know each other through music. It also has the potential of reducing stereotypes, which is especially needed in a conflict-affected area. Data sources included records of the classes (videos and a field diary), parents’ sharing of audio and video recordings of musical episodes at home through the music class WhatsApp group and semi-structured interviews with three parents. Data were analysed inductively through open coding and three themes emerged: why music and music classes?; the music class experience; and music at home. These themes reflect the reasons for participating in the programme and the contexts in which the children and their parents experience music. Findings show that those families who chose to participate in this programme hold positive attitudes towards the Other and reported neither observable nor vocally expressed prejudice of their children against the Other. The toddlers who participated in the classes have the potential to not develop negative stereotypes towards the Other (Arab or Jewish), since their families do not expose them to such stereotypes. Nevertheless, they are members of societies (East and West Jerusalem) holding systemic ethnic biases, and therefore joint music classes may strengthen positive attitudes.

Challenging the traceability of natural gold by combining geochemical methods: French Guiana example

Considering the high economic importance and worldwide distribution of gold, the ability to identify its provenance is critical and challenging to ensuring a responsible supply chain from deposit to consumer, especially within conflict-affected areas. Here we present an innovative approach to trace the provenance of natural gold from French Guiana through a combination of geochemical and statistical methods. This approach is divided in three steps and allows the identification of illicit gold, the certification of the declared gold origin coming from legal operators and, in some cases, the identification of unknown gold. French Guiana was chosen as a demonstration case of our approach because it is a well-known conflict-affected area where illegal mining is widespread. In the first step, we showed that the use of illegal Hg amalgamation can be easily revealed by looking the gold grain morphology with an optical microscope or by detecting the Hg with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy that allow direct detection on the field. In the second and principal step, we demonstrated that a declared provenance of gold can be certify with a high degree of confidence by measuring the Ag content of a gold grain population and by checking it against a database with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic. In the final step that allows the identification of the origin of unknown gold, we used (i) the content of minor elements (Cu and Hg), (ii) the identification of mineral inclusions and their relative proportions within samples and (iii) the trace element composition of natural gold grains determined by LA-ICP-MS and coupled with a permutational multivariate analysis of variance and a similarity percentage analysis. This method allows the identification of the provenance of 69% of the gold samples; the provenance of other gold populations (31%) cannot be identified because of their geological similarity with other groups. The traceability of natural gold can be guaranteeing with our innovative approach, in particular by certifying declared gold population provenance. Further challenges to be addressed will be the implementation of such approach in others conflict-affected regions to support the global supply chain of gold.

Citizenship education for environmental sustainability in Lebanon: public school teachers’ understandings and approaches

Governments around the world have expressed various degrees of commitment to promoting approaches to environmental sustainability through their national curricular aims. Critical and dialogic pedagogies can support learning for environmental sustainability, but teachers in countries affected by armed conflict struggle to facilitate such pedagogies as they drive students to accurately recite information published in textbooks. In this study, we investigate education practices for environmental sustainability in Lebanon, a conflict-affected area. We conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers across 21 public schools. Findings showed that despite their commitments to caring for the natural environment, pedagogies and policies are, by and large, inadequate to foster a citizenship for environmental sustainability. While teachers reported that learners participate in recycling and replanting activities at school, their self-reports suggest that mainstream pedagogy requires learners to uncritically reproduce knowledge officiated in the national curriculum and carry out activities directed by teachers. Most teachers believed that governmental reform to end corruption was a prerequisite to teaching and learning for a citizenship for environmental sustainability. In public schools, engaging children in environmentally sustainable practices in Lebanon is hampered by a teaching workforce comprising less than a quarter of teachers with written qualifications, a highly centralized governance system and stagnant curricular reform.

Local agency, adaptation, and vertical integration of bottom-up peacebuilding: reflecting on systemic action research in Myanmar

ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from a peacebuilding programme in a highly conflict-affected area in northern Myanmar. The programme utilised a novel peacebuilding methodology, Systemic Action Research, which draws upon participatory action research, complexity theory, and systems thinking. The programme engendered high rates of participation among populations that were otherwise excluded from Myanmar’s peace process, democratic process, and international development assistance. Notable successes were achieved on conflict-related issues such as landmine contamination and drug abuse, whose incidence rates are among the worst in the world. Various characteristics of the programme are explored for their contributions to greater peacebuilding effectiveness, including sufficient localisation, the role of agency, the utility of learning and adaptation, and various types of strategic connections between actors and processes which allow for vertical integration of bottom-up peacebuilding programmes and offer a richer set of relational dynamics that are of interest to ‘peace writ large’.

Immunization in Conflict-Affected Area : The Case of Sierra Leone and Nigeria

STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS - BIOLOGIA , CHEMIA , DRAMATICA , EDUCATIO ARTIS GYMNASTICAE , EPHEMERIDES , EUROPAEA , GEOGRAPHIA , GEOLOGIA , HISTORIA , INFORMATICA , IURISPRUDENTIA , MATHEMATICA , NEGOTIA , OECONOMICA , PHILOLOGIA , PHILOSOPHIA , PHYSICA , POLITICA , PSYCHOLOGIA-PAEDAGOGIA , SOCIOLOGIA , THEOLOGIA CATHOLICA , THEOLOGIA CATHOLICA LATINA , THEOLOGIA GRAECO-CATHOLICA VARADIENSIS , THEOLOGIA ORTHODOXA , THEOLOGIA REFORMATA TRANSYLVANICA

Don’t forget the Geneva Conventions: achieving responsible business conduct in conflict-affected areas through adherence to international humanitarian law

ABSTRACT This article examines the question of how a business operating in a conflict-affected area can uphold human rights. It contends that a crucial yet often overlooked element is a business’s commitment to embedding the fundamental standards of international humanitarian law (IHL) (as distinct from international human rights law) into its policies and practices. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights state that companies doing business in conflict-affected areas should respect IHL—the law of armed conflict. However, businesses are often unfamiliar with IHL and its relevance to their operations; it both provides legal protections and represents potential risks and liabilities. Similarly, the scholarly discourse around business and human rights (BHR) tends to overlook the relevance of IHL. The absence of IHL from the scope of the draft BHR treaty currently being negotiated at the United Nations is indicative of this. While some businesses operate with greater conflict sensitivity than others, in most cases they do not use an IHL lens to do so. The article outlines the significance of IHL for business and provides an affirmative case for greater integration of IHL into the BHR project, including its governance instruments and practical tools, to help realise the goal of responsible business conduct in conflict-affected areas.

Disruption and decline: the gendered consequences of civil war and political transition for education in Tajikistan

ABSTRACT The sweeping political transition from the Soviet Union to independence in Tajikistan was accompanied by a devastating civil war. Social, economic, and demographic change followed. This research examines a critical indicator of human welfare and stability at the micro- and macro-levels: educational attainment and mobility. Using the 2007 Tajik Living Standards Survey, I compare cohorts educated before, during, and after the civil war. I examine the impact of the war and the political transition on educational attainment and mobility. The findings suggest that the consequences of civil war and political transition in Tajikistan were gendered: boys’ attainment was disrupted when they lived in a conflict-affected area and were 16-to-17 years old when the war began; girls’ attainment decline was more widespread. This research contributes to our understanding of the long-term consequences of political events on human capital accumulation over the life course.

Knowledge and beliefs about Ebola virus in a conflict-affected area: early evidence from the North Kivu outbreak.

Knowledge and beliefs about Ebola virus in a conflict-affected area: early evidence from the North Kivu outbreak.

Scaling up mental health interventions in conflict zones

Scaling up mental health interventions in conflict zones