The European Union (EU) in partnership with UNICEF has provided community-based psychosocial services to 5, 129 children to improve their mental health in Borno. The psychosocial services, is funded by EU to support the early recovery and resilience project implementation of by UNICEF.
Representative of the global health agency in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins stated Monday in Maiduguri that; “As children continue to bear the brunt of 12-year conflict; psychosocial services could improve children’s mental health,” adding that the treated children are out of school in six Local Government Areas. According to him, the children are receiving psychosocial services for mental health support to strengthen their well-being and resilience. He said the support could improve children’s literacy skills, self-reliance with protection and health services. He said that the humanitarian intervention has also provided 15,552 out of school children with vocational training.
Others, according to him, include the provision of literacy and numeracy skills to 1,610 out of school children. “Over 5,000 children were also enrolled into the integrated Quranic schools in targeted Councils, he said. He lamented that over 300,000 children were also killed in the North-east, while over a million people have been displaced.
A recent Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) needs assessment of conflict-affected children also revealed pervasive psychosocial distress manifesting as high levels of anxiety, anger, aggressiveness, and hyper-vigilance. “The scars of conflict are real and enduring for children,” he lamented, fearing that their childhood may not be regain to restart their lives. Hawkin attributed stress and violence to poor brain development, depression and poor self-esteem among children. He said that being exposed to conflict and violence; children are at risk of long-term mental health and psychosocial issues.
Continuing, he added: “Addressing the psychosocial well-being and development of children and teachers in conflict situations is an important part of re-establishing education provision,” noting that they enable children to re-enter schools safely. He said that the provision of psychosocial support to helps conflict-affected children manage their emotions and deal with crisis to maintain healthy relationships.
