Background

For over 20 years, an armed insurgency in Northern Uganda caused significant suffering, insecurity and upheaval. In the beginning of the 1986, an insurgent group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) targeted civilians systematically with rape, mutilation, murder and abduction. Over the years, 60,000 children have been abducted, an estimate of over 100,000 people have lost their lives, and 1.8 million people were internally displaced. During this time, many people were victimized and had limited access to rehabilitation services and support. Conflict settings cause ill health due to injuries, malnutrition, and the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, pneumonia and cholera in the camps due to overcrowding and a lack of fresh water and sanitation. Furthermore, chronic conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases worsen due to the lack of treatment. Some children passed through rehabilitation centers for a short while before reunification with their families. However, they were not provided with psychosocial support, leaving them traumatized and helpless in life. Especially poverty endangered vulnerable war victims, as financial constraints hindered them to access health services, education, vocational training programs and rehabilitation. In such conflict and emergency settings, social inequalities exacerbate: war victims are often marginalized and their rights violated.