Publication: Comfort for Kids in the Time of Ebola: Mental Health Liberia
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2018-01
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2018-01
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The 2014-2015 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia resulted in over 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. Recognizing the importance of addressing children’s trauma, the Ebola recovery and restoration trust fund (EERTF) funded the implementation of a Comfort for kids (C4K) program which encourages psychological healing, and promotes resilience in children who have experienced a crisis or disaster. The C4K program in Liberia was implemented between January 2015 and December 2016 in fifteen townships in Montserrado County through a collaboration between Mercy Corps Liberia, the World Bank’s Liberian health task team, and the government of Liberia. C4K primarily centers on the My Story workbook and associated classroom activities, which provide children with the opportunity to express their emotions about their experiences through drawing, writing, and facilitated discussion. C4K also provides capacity building for parents, teachers, and other caretakers on how to identify and more effectively respond to children’s trauma responses and to support their recovery. C4K is a low-risk intervention which is implemented in conjunction with referral pathways to more intensive mental health support in the event of severe mental or emotional distress. The successful implementation of this program has been a contributing factor in increasing the resilience, psychosocial health and well-being of EVD-affected children aged six to thirteen, in project target areas.
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“World Bank Group. 2018. Comfort for Kids in the Time of Ebola: Mental Health Liberia. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29683 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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