War-affected Countries Research Articles

Review of Understanding and supporting children in war-affected countries..

Review of Understanding and supporting children in war-affected countries..

Stakeholders\u2019 perspectives on facilitators of and barriers to the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in Eritrea: a qualitative study

BackgroundWars affect maternal health services by destroying health systems. Eritrea experienced two wars with neighbouring Ethiopia. Despite this, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Eritrea fell by 69% from 1590 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 501 in 2015. This study aimed to examine facilitators of and barriers to the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in Eritrea.MethodsUsing in-depth interviews and field observations for data collection, this qualitative study was conducted in five healthcare facilities in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, in February and March 2016. The participants were: women (n = 40), husbands (n = 5), healthcare providers (n = 10), and decision makers (n = 5).ResultsThere were two perceived facilitators of utilisation of and access to maternal health services: health education (related to the WHO health service delivery building blocks) and improvement in gender equality driven by the role played by Eritrean women as combatants during the War of Independence (1961–1991). The only perceived barrier was poor quality of care due to lack of ultrasound machines, short clinic opening hours, and shortage of healthcare workers (related to the WHO health workforce building block).ConclusionThis study assessed women and their husbands/partners’ perceptions and the possible effects of contemporary Eritrean culture and the history of war on the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in the country. As well, we examined healthcare providers’ and decision makers’ perspectives. The two key facilitators of women’s utilisation of and access to maternal health services were health education and women’s empowerment driven by their role as combatants during the War of Independence. One main barrier was poor quality of care due to lack of ultrasound machines, short clinic opening hours, and a shortage of healthcare workers. As only a limited number of qualitative studies have been published about maternal health services in war-affected sub-Saharan African countries, our findings regarding health education and women’s empowerment could be considered in other war-affected countries similar to Eritrea. Nevertheless, further research is needed to investigate our findings – particularly regarding female empowerment driven by women’s role in combat in relation to their maternal health.

A Digital Advance for Housing, Land and Property Restitution in War-Affected States: Leveraging Smart Migration

The large-scale restitution of housing, land and property (HLP) for those dislocated due to armed conflict has significant repercussions for the prospect of return, recovery and durable peace. Failure to adequately engage in restitution and other remedies for displaced populations has demonstrated that the grievances generated usually do not abate, but instead grow, including over generations, to produce subsequent problems, including armed conflict. While advances in transitional justice have supported the development of mass claims processes for HLP in war-affected countries, the current magnitude and complexity of forced dislocation is beyond the ability of conventional techniques to manage in an effective and timely way. This article argues that the current approach for handling massive numbers of HLP claims in postwar scenarios needs a critical upgrade; and describes what such an upgrade could comprise with a set of advanced techniques. These techniques focus on the issues of time, the size and complexity of the problem, new spatial technologies, and the now much greater agency possessed by displaced populations made possible by mobile digital technologies.

Shifting the refugee narrative? An automated frame analysis of Europe’s 2015 refugee crisis

ABSTRACTIn 2015, Europe faced the arrival of over 1.25 million refugees fleeing from war-affected countries. The public mainly learned about this issue through domestic media. Through the use of computer-assisted content analysis, this study identifies the most dominant frames employed in the coverage of refugee and asylum issues between January 2015 and January 2016 in six Austrian newspapers (N = 10,606), particularly focusing on potential differences between quality and tabloid media, and on frame variations over time. The findings reveal that, apart from administrative aspects of coping with the arrivals, established narratives of security threat and economisation are most prominent. Humanitarianism frames and background information on the refugees’ situation are provided to a lesser extent. During the most intense phases of the crisis, the framing patterns of tabloid and quality media become highly similar. Media coverage broadens to multiple prominent frames as issue salience sharply increases, and then ‘crystallises’ into a more narrow set. In sum, the results confirm a predominance of stereotyped interpretations of refugee and asylum issues, and thus persisting journalistic routines in both, tabloid and quality media, even in times of a major political and humanitarian crisis.

“C’est comme ça que cela pourrait recommencer” : L’épineuse question foncière au Burundi

In recent years, research on land conflicts in war-affected countries has seen a significant increase in the literature on conflict resolution. Land grabbing coupled with the return and repatriation of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) after the end of civil wars constitute major challenges for peace and reconciliation in many African countries. Drawing on a case study of Burundi, one of Africa’s most densely populated countries, this article analyses the complex issues related to land conflicts. Burundi is currently facing thousands of land disputes following the return of refugees and IDPs stemming from the different politico-ethnic crises that this Great Lakes country has endured since independence. The current instrumentalization of the land issue by political entrepreneurs highlights the risks for the fragile peace and reconciliation process that Burundi has known in recent years if the land conflicts are not addressed in a sensitive and equitable manner.

Bridging the Chasm between Domestic and International Approaches to Peacebuilding: Conceptual and Institutional Tools*

This paper focuses on the chasm between domestic and international understandings and approaches to peacebuilding and the mixed outcomes that characterize contemporary efforts to assist war-torn countries. It argues that post-Cold War peacebuilding relies on a wide array of international actors with diverse interests and mandates which are not necessarily aligned with local realities or needs. Building on the rich literature on the role of external actors in conflict zones, the paper examines the interface between domestic and international actors through the concept of hybridity. It then reviews two mechanisms that aim to level the playing field between war-affected countries and international actors: the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and the New Deal for Engagement with Fragile States.

Transforming the lives of war-affected youth: how microcredit can shape their self-identity

Purpose– This study aims to direct war-affected youth’s self-identity towards microcredit. Youth is an important life stage for individuals’ self-identity formation. Features, labels and meanings associated with products can influence youth’s self-identity development.Design/methodology/approach– A quantitative-survey method was used for data collection. The sample comprised 1,160 youth microcredit users aged between 18 and 24 years selected from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Analysis was conducted mainly in three steps, testing measurement model, hypotheses testing and testing for moderation effects.Findings– The findings revealed that positive affect directed the youth’s self-identity towards microcredit, whereas perceived deterrents played a negative role. Knowledge of microcredit enhanced these attitudes. Also, entrepreneurial desire enhanced the association between positive affect and self-identity, and weakened the negative association between perceived deterrents and self-identity.Research limitations/implications– The data were cross-sectional and this study was conducted in one country. So, the model needs replication amongst youth in other war-affected countries and with longitudinal data. Additionally, this study is open for expansion by incorporating other constructs that can draw vulnerable youth’s self-identity around products.Practical implications– This research suggests how war-affected youth’s self-identity can be drawn around microcredit.Originality/value– This study proposes a unique conceptual model to draw vulnerable youth’s self-identity closer to products beneficial for their well-being, in this case, microcredit.

<em>Promoting Peace and Conflict-Sensitive Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa</em>

One of the most effective ways universities in war-affected countries can be functionally relevant to the everyday needs and challenges of their immediate environment is by promoting peacebuilding through peace education. This paper explores the role of universities in fostering peace education in diverse post-conflict and conflict-prone countries of sub-Saharan Africa and further investigates the contending models and strategies (notably the Bradford Model and the Centralized Unitary Model) of conflict-sensitive peace education in universities in the countries concerned. It also analyzes the problems associated with promoting peace education in sub-Saharan Africa and recommends policy-relevant measures designed to strengthen the process. The data was generated from secondary sources, as well as a raft of conflict intervention, regional security, and peacebuilding projects of which the researcher took part in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Sudan.

The perils of outsourcing post-conflict reconstruction: donor countries, international NGOs and private military and security companies

During the last few years, some donor countries (especially the US and the UK) have been increasingly outsourcing services in post-conflict operations to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and private military and security companies (PMSCs). These states have also adopted ‘integrated approaches’ to their policy interventions, contributing to the emergence of an ‘aid and security market’. The article uses ideas from both development and defence studies and re-problematises the contracting states' relationship with PMSCs and INGOs. It argues that although INGOs and PMSCs are very different types of non-state actors, there are striking similarities in outsourcing practices. Moreover, it demonstrates that the leading contracting states have poorly managed their contracts with both INGOs and PMSCs, and have not seriously reflected on the unintended consequences of their contracting practices on the recovery of war-affected countries.

From research to practice in child and adolescent mental health

<p>Not required</p>

Are school-based mental health interventions for war-affected children effective and harmless?

In recent years, different approaches to large-scale mental health service provision for children in war-affected, mainly low- and middle-income, countries have been developed. Some school-based programs aiming at both strengthening resilience and reducing symptoms of trauma-related distress have been evaluated. In an article published in BMC Medicine, Tol and colleagues integrate their findings of the efficacy of universal school-based intervention across four countries and do not recommend classroom-based intervention as a treatment of trauma-related symptoms, since no consistent positive effects were found. On the contrary, for some children this type of universal intervention may impair recovery. Since universal school-based programs similar to the one evaluated here are widely implemented, Tol et al.’s results are highly relevant to inform the field of mental health service provision in war-affected countries.Please see related article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/12/56.

Prison health as public health in Afghanistan? A policy analysis of the on-going reform process

Our knowledge about prisoners’ health in developing countries is patchy. Even in affluent societies the state of prisoners’ health leaves a lot to be desired. Significant progress in health care provision has been made in a small number of states or regions that entrust, instead of the detaining authority, the health authority with providing health care for prisoners. The Swiss canton of Geneva was a pioneer in making prison health completely independent from the prison administration in a process that started in the mid1980s. Norway, France, England, Wales and parts of Australia are recent examples that are best documented. Overlooked so far is the recent very similar experience in one of the world’s poorest and most war-affected countries: Afghanistan. This article describes the progress reform has made and the challenges it is facing in that particular context. The article is the result of two visits to Afghanistan: an external evaluation commissioned by the European Union (EU) was conducted between 13 and 25 October 2012; the methodology consisted of a literature and document study, three prison visits and interviews (n1⁄4 49) with representatives

<em>Social Networks, Resources, and International NGOs in Postwar Sierra Leone</em>

ABSTRACT: The wages paid to local employees by international NGOs and the grants given to community organizations are an understudied aspect of the effect of aid on war-affected coun-tries. In this article, I explore how wages and grants become part of social networks in Makeni, in northern Sierra Leone, and argue that cash infusions cause tension within networks and between payees and INGOs because organizations refuse to “inflate” wages and grants, and yet recipients suffer extreme poverty and support vast social networks. INGOs do not want to pay more than the earnings of low- level civil servants, though popuar perception is that they can and should. Community-l based organizations also begin their activities by repaying debts, giving them limited life spans and limited trust in communi-ties. These tensions contribute to perceptions of hoarding, which adversely affects the willingness of residents to cooperate with INGO programs and may hasten program failure. KEYWORDS: NGOs, Employment, Kinship, Obligation, Si-erra Leone

Delivering Interventions to Young People Exposed to War-Related Violence and Sexual Exploitation: Longstanding Struggles but Lasting Successes.

This article outlines the impact of conflict and war-related sexual exploitation on young people's mental health and explores some of the predisposing factors which contribute to this psychological distress. It then outlines how a lack of valid measures of psychological distress, limited research, diverse services, treatments and cultural practices, previous trauma, and a multitude of competing agencies can hamper mental health delivery in war-affected countries before explaining how using non-Western measures of distress, extensive preresearch preparation, cultural respect tinged with scepticism, a duty of care, and involving stakeholders in decision-making can mitigate these problems. Lastly, this article outlines one study that overcame the logistical, security, and educational challenges of service delivery and calls for further research on psychosocial interventions, dismantling studies of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions, and hybrid inventions which target both mental health and psychosocial need and fruitful partnerships between academic institutions and civil society organizations.

Power sharing, peace and democracy: Any obvious relationships?

Power sharing, mostly understood as including political opponents in a joint executive coalition government, is today a dominant approach to solving conflict. Almost as a panacea it has been introduced in numerous war-affected countries and is often recommended as a political solution to overcome deep divisions between groups. Researchers, mediators and policy-makers applaud such solutions as forward-looking, peace-strengthening and democratic. However, many have criticized power sharing and its failed ability to create peace and development in divided and conflict-ridden countries. The literature on power sharing can reach such divergent conclusions because there is no consensus on what power sharing is, what the aim of it is and how to study it. Apart from broad inclusion in joint government, the understanding of power sharing varies and recommendations to ‘share power’ give little guidance to policy-makers aiming to mitigate conflict. Therefore, this article reviews 40 years of research on power sharing by elaborating on four central aspects within the literature: (1) conceptualization; (2) domain; (3) causal mechanism; and (4) measurement. While there may be no ‘true’ power sharing or ‘truth’ about power sharing, the article concludes that it is crucial that researchers and policy-makers are clear about which type of power sharing they are discussing in specific situations. Given that power sharing is increasingly recommended and implemented in many fragile and post-conflict societies, it is important to understand what is meant by power sharing in these contexts.

Transforming Schools and Strengthening Leadership to Support the Educational and Psychosocial Needs of War-Affected Children Living in Canada

This article describes a qualitative research study that examined the educational experiences of refugee students who have immigrated to Canada. Many children from war-affected countries have been denied basic human entitlements, and their immigration to Canada represents hope for their futures. Evidence suggests that these students are further marginalized by an educational system that does not recognize their unique psychosocial needs and does not provide culturally sensitive support. Purposeful steps should be taken by school leaders to address the needs of newcomers and to facilitate pedagogical practices that make schools more equitable and socially just.

The impact of risk and protective factors on mental health and well-being-Austrian adolescents and migrant adolescents from war-affected countries

Background: young persons are most strongly affected by displacement through political/military actions. This is also a European problem as well as an issue for the European Union. Applying the social-ecological model by Bronfenbrenner we concentrated on micro- and mesosystems of Austrian adolescents and migrant adolescents of war-affected countries. Methods: a questionnaire was administered to adolescents in Austria attending schools beyond the mandatory school age, yielding a sample of about 1 100 students from Austrian and immigrant background. We used analysis of variance to compare host and immigrant youth as well as regression analysis to assess the impact of risk and protective factors on youth outcomes. Results: we do find sex differences for protective factors and youth outcomes but few differences between immigrant and Austrian adolescents. Youth outcomes analysed were somatic symptoms, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, anti-social behaviour, substance use, and academic performance. Important risk factors turned out to be intergenerational conflict, exposure to violence, and social distance. Protective factors include family connectedness, parental monitoring, school connectedness, peer support, and neighbourhood attachment. Conclusions: the most important protective factor is school connectsdness. Social distance and intergenerational conflict are the dominant risk factors influencing youth outcomes. Our research leads to a better understanding of factors determining the well-being of adolescents and contributes to finding new approaches to prevent or cope with mental health problems of young immigrants. In particular it appears to be important to keep young persons in education and/or training since school connectedness influences mental health and well-being positively.

Experiences of School Principals With Newcomers from War-Affected Countries in Africa

This article is based on the results of an exploratory study of experiences of 2 urban school principals about leading schools with immigrants from war-affected countries in Africa. It examines how they perceived their preparation for multicultural leadership, and explores lessons that leadership development institutions can learn from their experiences. Data from in-depth interviews revealed that the principals felt inadequately prepared to work with this minority group. With the influx of immigrants in schools, it is vital that leadership development institutions develop pragmatic approaches for preparing principals to work with second language learners, particularly those who face psychosocial challenges arising from experiences with war, poverty, or living in communities where they are prone to crime.

External Debt in Post-Conflict Countries

Summary In the development literature, there exists no systematic study of external borrowing in post-conflict countries. We address this gap by analyzing statistical and case study evidence from three African countries. We find that many war-affected countries face rising debt arrears and deteriorating relations with creditors. Rebuilding trust between lenders and borrowers is hence a crucial but often slow process. Furthermore, donors to war-affected African countries have been slow to grant exceptional debt relief based on odious debt or on financial requirements. Debt relief for post-conflict reconstruction should embrace a more forward looking and more generous conditionality.

School-based Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy Group Intervention for Refugee Children who have Experienced War-related Trauma

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based group intervention designed for children who have experienced trauma. Twenty-six children (aged 11-15 years) who were refugees or asylum-seekers from war-affected countries participated. The manual-based intervention consisted of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques and was implemented within secondary schools. The treatment group ( n = 15) received six sessions of group CBT over a 6-week period, while the control group ( n = 11) were placed on a waiting list for 6 weeks and then invited to enter treatment. Children in the CBT group showed statistically significant, but clinically modest improvements following the intervention, with decreases in overall severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Significant improvements were also found in overall behavioural difficulties and emotional symptoms. Children in the waiting list control group did not show any improvements over the same period. However, follow-up data, which were only available for a small subset of eight children, suggest that gains in the CBT group were not maintained at 2-month follow-up.