Photo Credit: UNICEF Nigeria / Borno State Ministry of Information (For illustration: Children at an IDP camp in Maiduguri)
FG Calls for Urgent Mental Health Investment for Children in Conflict Zones

The Federal Government has called for increased investment in mental health and psychosocial support for children affected by armed conflict across Nigeria.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Mohammed Doro, made the call on Wednesday in Maiduguri during the National Dialogue on the Psychosocial Impact of Conflict on Children. The dialogue was jointly organized by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Health, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the North East Development Commission (NEDC), and the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Dr. Doro revealed alarming statistics showing that 79.7% of displaced children suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 84.8% battle depression, and 90.7% have functional impairments affecting learning and sleep. He warned that humanitarian response must go beyond food and shelter.

“A child who has been fed, but not healed in mind, has not truly been rescued,” he said.

Representing Governor Babagana Zulum, Borno State Deputy Governor, Umar Usman Kadafur, said Borno remains the epicentre of the crisis with over one million children displaced, more than 1,400 schools destroyed, 2,295 teachers killed and 19,000 displaced. He warned that untreated trauma could create “a pipeline of bitterness, alienation, and vulnerability to recruitment” by extremist groups.

The Federal Government said the meeting will produce a national policy framework to address the invisible wounds of war.
Source: Newspaper