08/06/2006

An overlooked aspect of humanitarian assistance is attending to the mental health needs of people. l’Association pour la Protection de l’Enfant de la Guerre, formed to look after the mental health needs of children who had lived through the 1996 civil war in Lebanon, has noted that there was a huge need for assistance for all people. “It is too early to see the trauma now, but we are seeing flare ups of acute anxiety disorders and separation anxiety. Left untreated, we anticipate seeing a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. We know what happened after the last war and we are ready to help now.”