The war in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on children’s mental health, learning and development

Opinion Article by UNICEF Representative in Romania, Anna Riatti   The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to devastate the lives of children and families, https://www.unicef.org/romania reads.   For two long years, Ukrainian children have endured suffering that no child should have to endure: displacement, the destruction of their homes and communities, the loss of family and friends. Their lives have been disrupted in ways that will, unfortunately, have a lasting negative impact on their future. Millions of children now live and grow up in a continuous state of fear, uncertainty, and deprivation. More than 1,860 children have been killed or injured in the past two years.   The war is now less talked about in the media, but we should not forget that more than 5.9 million people in Ukraine - 88 per cent of them women and children – are now refugees outside Ukraine – the largest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War.   Since the first day of the war, Romanians and the Romanian authorities have done an excellent job in helping the waves of refugees across the border. Together with its partners, UNICEF worked to provide the support needed. More than 202,000 people had access to the Blue Dots safe spaces, protection and support hubs developed in partnership with UNHCR. 35,000 children were registered in the UNICEF-developed Primero national information management system to support their access to services. And, as two years have passed, it has become clear that our support must adapt and continue in different, sustainable ways, towards inclusion which can only be achieved by strengthening the existing protection and social systems.   More than 77,000 refugees from Ukraine are recorded at present in Romania, most of which are women and children. UNICEF provided more than 33,000 learning materials and 5,000 laptops to children and schools, so that they can continue their education, while 28,000 children received winter clothes. Since March 2022, 34 UNICEF-supported Play, Learning and Parenting Hubs have been established, operating under different types of partnerships. More than 3,000 children and 2,500 parents have directly benefited from these hubs' services.   Our support must also reach areas that received less attention in the first months of the conflict, when the most immediate needs had to be met. The difficulties experienced by refugee children in leaving their homes, families, friends, schools and communities will have a devastating impact on future adults if not tackled.   That is why UNICEF has focused from the start on and continues to focus a significant part of its efforts on addressing children's mental health and psychosocial well-being. As a result of UNICEF’s work, over 27,000 children and caregivers accessed mental health and psychosocial support.   We need to invest more in mental health and psychosocial support services across all sectors and community services, not only for refugee children, but for all children, including Romanian children, as  UNICEF reports already show.   A U-Report survey on mental health conducted among 70 young Ukrainians in Romania showed that a quarter of them reported a 'poor' or a 'very poor' emotional balance, reflecting significant stressors, possibly related to displacement, cultural adjustment, or the impact of the conflict in their home country. While the majority considered their emotional balance to be 'average', this suggests a potential vulnerability and a coping mechanism whereby respondents downplay distress due to stigma or a lack of available support. Barriers identified by children themselves to getting the mental health and psychosocial support they need including financial constraints and a lack of knowledge about where to go for help.   One of the most effective ways to provide this support is to increase the inclusion of Ukrainian children into the communities in which they live. This makes them feel that they are part of the communities they live in. And this is where we can all play a decisive role in ensuring a sustainable common future and a faster post-war reconstruction of affected communities.   The role of teachers and school staff is crucial. They should be trained and supported to include all children and provide quality education especially for children with disabilities, and to provide mental health and psychosocial support, assistive technology, and language support services.   UNICEF is working with the Government, inter-agency partners, civil society and the business sector to complement national efforts, address humanitarian needs, moving towards creating a network of referrals for social services accessible by Ukraine refugees and other affected populations.   Mental health and psychosocial support should also be extended to families, through the implementation of programmes to promote positive parenting and nurturing care, and to support the well-being and mental health of caregivers.   The response in schools and in communities is also essential, to ensure that all children and adolescents learn and interact in safe and secure environments, both online and offline.   Unfortunately, the importance of mental health and psychosocial well-being is still not recognized – due to cultural contexts and limited data, we also need to learn to talk about mental health differently and communicate better to effectively change the public discourse, and tackle stigma and discrimination.   With sustained effort and the right interventions, change is happening, and we are starting to see the results we want. The stories behind them are moving, like that of Iryna, a psychologist at the UNICEF-supported Youth Hub in Timisoara, helping Ukrainian refugee children who have experienced the suffering of war and displacement. The children who come at the Youth Hub often carry the heavy burden of war-related anxiety, having experienced the loss of loved ones.  Communication difficulties and a longing for their homeland add to the challenges faced by young Ukrainian refugees. Making the systems for the protection and well-being of refugee children work is a duty for all of us and it means making them yield results for all children in Romania, especially the most vulnerable. We must do whatever it takes to move things forward. This war has been devastating for Ukraine’s children.   The passing of the two years of war in the neighboring Ukraine is a sad and powerful reminder that it’s in our power to make the changes necessary in order to leave no child behind.