This briefing paper reveals new data which shows millions of children living in war zones or forced to flee as refugees will require support to address mental illness caused by war. The new analysis contained in the paper reveals at least 24 million children require some form of mental health support to deal with conditions such as such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression or anxiety, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the face of an epidemic linked to the trauma of war, the international community must rapidly scale-up its response or risk losing a generation to the War on Children. This briefing paper looks at the options available to donor governments to better allocate aid to address the problem.