Crowded Refugee Camps, Empty Stomachs and Dehydrated Bodies: Public Health Opportunities to End Multiple Child Jeopardy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite an acknowledgement by specialized agencies (e.g. Save the Children) of the positive impact of cash transfers on childhood poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), highest and unacceptable rates of child poverty are persistent. Eloquent health indicators (child mortality, malnutrition, immunization coverage, etc.) illustrative of a widening gap in global health equity lead to question the translation into practice of the principle of “the best interests of the child” as stipulated by the United Nations in their convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC). Long-lasting armed conflicts in SSA are devastating, cripple the lives of children and contribute to worsening health inequities. Even though the camps provide some security and relief to those who succeed at reaching them, they often show their limitations over time with the massive arrival of refugees. Young children, as more vulnerable beings, are put at disadvantage in overcrowded camps where they arrive exhausted, famished and dehydrated due to diarrhea and vomiting. The personnel makes titanic efforts, but the reality is hard to endure. Also bitter to swallow, is the fact that beds must be quickly freed because of the constant arrival of more children in need. As learning objectives, participants will: 1) increase their knowledge on child health in link to poverty, armed conflicts and denied well-being; 2) learn to critically look at the spiral down into suffering that African children are being experiencing along with a keen desdain for their rights and human development; 3) discuss the relevance of public health to rethink and renew rights-based approaches to a child-sensitive health protection, given the additional vulnerabilities children experience in relation to disruptions such as armed conflicts and forced displacements. Protecting children and ensuring a sustainable and full enjoyment of their human rights is also a public health endeavor in SSA.