The Needs Assessment Study of Children with Disabilities, Injured, and Separated or Unaccompanied, was conducted by the Community Training Centre for Crisis Management (CTCCM) with support from the War Child Alliance. It paints a harrowing picture of children’s mental health in Gaza.
This report examines the impact of the war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, on families and the psychological wellbeing of their children. It specifically focuses on the behavioral and emotional effects of this war on children and identifies their immediate basic needs after enduring more than a year of war.
The assessment had four key objectives:
- Identify the most significant problems facing separated, injured and disabled children in Gaza
- Determine these children’s protection and psychosocial needs
- Identify the most common psychological symptoms among separated, injured and disabled children resulting from this war
- Assess the level of psychological stress experienced by caregivers
A mixed-methods approach was used for this assessment, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The quantitative data gathered in June 2024 from a survey of caregivers of 504 families with disabled, injured or unaccompanied children, while the qualitative data was gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). Statistical analysis of the quantitative data was done using SPSS, while thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data.
The findings show that families suffer from poverty and limited resources. Unemployment accounted for 86% of the surveyed families. A signifiant portion of households surveyed were headed by children under the age of 17. Many families have been displaced multiple times and forced to live in camps with no access to clean water or electricity. The psychological toll on children was severe, with high levels of stress manifested in symptoms such as fear, anxiety, sleep disturbances, nightmares, nail biting, difficulty concentrating and social withdrawal.
The survey with the caregivers reveals that 73% of the children (92% boys vs. 54% girls) exhibited aggressive behavior, while 79% suffered from nightmares. Additionally, 87% of children experienced severe fear, and 38% reported bed-wetting. Pessimism was prevalent, with 90% of children expressing a bleak outlook due to the war. Introversion affected 70% of girls and 55% of the children overall, and nearly half of the caregivers (49%) reported that their children believed they would die in the war. When asked specifically about the views of the boys in their care, this figure rose to 72%. Furthermore, 77% of children expressed feelings of sadness, and an overwhelming 96% felt that death was imminent.
Based on this assessment, there is an urgent need for protection and essential services for children who are disabled, injured, separated from family members, or whose family have been killed. Immediate interventions should include psychosocial support, the development of a referral system to connect families with local service providers, and the provision of critical medical supplies and nutritional supplements. In addition, there is a clear need for the provision of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, crutches and hearing aids, distribution of winter clothing and hygiene kits to ensure children’s wellbeing and dignity, and continued support for maintaining personal hygiene amid challenging living conditions.
