Aid workers say children and adolescents in Saada Governorate, northern Yemen, have experienced high levels of psychological trauma as a result of prolonged fighting between government forces and a Shia rebel group.
Their assertion is based in part on the results of a UN Children’s Fund-funded survey carried out by the Medical Charitable Association (MCA), a local non-governmental organisation. The psycho-social assessment survey covered all 15 of Saada's districts in August-October 2007.
Some 1,400 respondents were selected, 630 of whom were children and adolescents. Some 92.4 percent of the sampled children and adolescents had been exposed to armed conflict; 5.7 percent were evacuated temporarily from their villages during armed conflict; 44 percent were forced to hide to save their lives; 43.4 percent saw the destruction of their or their friends' houses; 28 percent felt they were about to die during the conflict; 15 percent were injured; 13.8 percent had at least one family member killed; and 10 percent had one family member missing.
Mohammed al-Maqrami, technical coordinator of the Psychosocial Support Project, told IRIN that 53.2 percent of respondents ranked high on major depressive symptoms, and 49.2 percent on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"Saada locals, according to the findings, had high levels of PTSD symptoms - on a par with traumatised populations in post-conflict areas like Nepal, Palestine and Iran," he said.
According to al-Maqrami, symptoms included depression, anxiety, behavioural and aggression problems, and physical symptoms (like nausea, headaches and tremors).
The Saada Governorate has only seven health facilities, and a population of some 700,000. There is no specialist facility for psychological cases.
Training
On 16 February MCA started a two-week training workshop in Saada city, targeting 70 local people. The trainees include health and education workers, civil society organisations, and community leaders. Mahfoud al-Kadam, an MCA information officer, said the trainees would learn how to deal with psychologically affected people, and also be given manuals.
Once trained, Al-Kadam said, trainees would be sent to the field to deal with traumatised people and also train locals on dealing with them.
According to MCA, delayed onset disorder cases or those with persistent psychological distress, despite receiving psychological first aid and group interventions locally, will need to be referred to regional and central teams for more specialised treatment.
maj/ar/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
