Child Soldiers in African and Middle Eastern Region
Introduction
Since the civilization of humankind, an outbreak of war is unquestionable, one of the most disastrous events worldwide. It entails grievous outcomes for all people in regard to development, survival, and well-being (Haer, 2019). Over the recent years, as wars continue to occur across Africa and Middle Eastern Regions, the issue of child soldiers has emerged, making children in these regions vulnerable to severe acts of violence for many years. Beatrice (2020) asserts that the current use of children by terrorist groups has made child soldiering more alarming. Child soldiers refer to persons below the age of 18 who have been recruited and also used by armed groups or forces (Drumbl, 2020). As of today, the number of children recruited to take part in fights as child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region has increased over the years. For example, in 2015, the figure of children recruited to combat in Afghanistan increased by nearly threefold (Ike et al., 2020). This means that more children are becoming vulnerable to wars across the globe.
The issue of child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region has become a health problem for many years since it has resulted in detrimental health effects such as diseases, developmental delay, disability, acute and chronic effects, and even death (Kadir et al., 2019). On most occasions, children acting as soldiers are always exposed to communicable, infectious, and other pandemics in wars, thereby affecting their health significantly and the development of the community. Conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and psychosomatic complaints have very high mortality rates among children; hence, they persist for a long time (Kadir et al., 2019). This research paper will provide a comprehensive overview of the concern of child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region.
Challenges in the Resolution of Child Soldiers
One of the challenges in the resolution of child soldiers is the ‘‘opportunistic’’ recruits and resource-rich rebel groups. Over the years, ‘‘opportunistic’’ recruits and resource-rich rebel groups have been driven by the desire to gain personal benefits instead of embracing an honest commitment to the broader causes of the entire group in the community (Haer et al., 2020). These recruits prioritize personal benefits at the expense of benefiting children. In addition, recruits opt to limit the accessibility of assets and natural resources with an intention to lure more children to the military. Haer et al. (2020) assert that children are the most preferred recruits since they are always obedient and loyal. For that reason, it is obviously challenging to control the recruitment of child soldiers in Africa, and the Middle Eastern Region since ‘‘opportunistic’’ recruits take advantage of the fact that children are content with the unequal sharing and accessibility of resources in their communities.
Another challenge is the lack of basic education and support programs and employment opportunities. Education receives less than 2% of the entire humanitarian funding; hence, girls are more likely to be excluded from education than boys (Kadir et al., 2018). Due to this reason, children must be subjected to basic education to ensure they are not exposed to risky behaviors such as violence. On the same note, children should be allowed to access and participate in programs that can allow them to embrace positive attitudes and perspectives in society (Kadir et al., 2018). This is fundamental because it may prevent children from being tempted to be recruited as soldiers. However, children who are exposed to armed conflicts should be protected by international law to prevent them from being lured or forced to terrorist organizations (Drumbl, 2020). On most occasions, children are forced to join the military to seek employment opportunities.
Influence of Cultural or Religious Beliefs in Child Soldiers
The influence of culture and religious beliefs has escalated cases of enrolling the child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region. Children are always kidnapped from their normal lives to serve the Jihadist armed forces, Islamic, Al Qaeda, and loyal states (Olivier, 2018). Children are manipulated and forced to accommodate the fact that they become holy once they participate in the war. Besides, they are forced to believe that they are holy, and only the holy ought to take part in the war to protect their positions in the community. According to Hynd (2020), African soldiers are believed to be ‘sacrificial victims,’ ‘crazed killers,’ and ‘traumatized veterans’ to be able to handle violence. This is a precise indication that cultures enhance children’s manipulation, thereby making them embrace extremist ideologies and perspectives. To back this statement, these children are forced to believe that military life and violence are the only options that can shape their destiny for them to acquire power, influence, and live (Hynd, 2020). Usually, cultural and religious factors have adverse mental effects on the victims since they trigger conditions such as aggression and temper, consequently affecting the community’s set-up and peace.
Influence of Healthcare disparities in Child Soldiers
Historically, most rural areas in Africa and Middle Eastern Regions are geographically isolated, contributing to weakened healthcare systems. The majority of the people living in these regions, including children, have limited access to healthcare specialists and care providers (Strasser et al., 2016). As a result, most of the children experience higher incidences of low life expectancies, higher frequencies of disease, develop risky health behaviors, and experience general suffering. Due to these reasons, most children are easily lured and recruited to be soldiers, because they are promised quality care that is never seen. Equally, the language barrier limits the children’s access to quality care services because it hinders therapeutic communication (Kwame & Petrucka, 2020). In this case, despite many children experiencing debilitating health conditions, they cannot express themselves in standard language, because they only speak their local languages. As a result, child soldiers lack the freedom to interact with other people, especially healthcare providers leading to difficulties in explaining themselves when they require medical help. Similarly, the lack of communication tools limits the possibility of delivering healthcare services through telephones, such as the case with telemedicine (Strasser et al., 2016). Since these problems are common in these regions, most children have become vulnerable to child soldier recruiters, especially when they are promised better living when they serve as soldiers. Again child soldiers are recruited as a result of unemployment and low socioeconomic problems. In this case, the low socioeconomic conditions experienced by the people living in remote and geographically isolated regions of Africa and Middle Eastern make most of the children discriminated by healthcare professionals, resulting in compromised health. As a result, there is an increased possibility that these children will accept financial offers to join the military and help in combating because such recruitments are sufficiently funded through criminal activities (Haer et al., 2020).
Impact of Economic Variables to Individuals, Families, and Community
Economic variables are measures that assist in determining how an economy functions. One of the economic variables is the available resources, which can be classified into either human or natural resources (Haer et al., 2020). Resources are fundamental since they make life easy for individuals. For example, resources such as water and air are critical towards ensuring quality and safe health for individuals. The issue of child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region has substantially limited access to clean water and sanitation, thereby increasing children’s exposure and vulnerability to preventable diseases (Kadir et al., 2019). This problem further affects the children’s families and the community. For example, the contaminated water and air resulting from war can affect the community’s welfare in terms of health status. Additionally, child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region also limit families from enjoying resources such as economic variables because wars lead to economic marginalization (Haer et al., 2020). For example, wars may destroy healthcare facilities and rehabilitation centers that promote positive health outcomes; hence, affecting the delivery of care to the community.
Impact of Ethical Principles in the Resolution of Child Soldiers
Ethical principles are part and parcel of the society we are living in today (O’Connor, 2017). One of the ethical principles which may impact the resolution of the problem is autonomy. Autonomy is characterized by the respect of people’s decisions about their lives. In this case, children in these regions may decide to join the military, making it difficult to change their decisions. Therefore, autonomy may impact the resolution of this issue since ethics must be honored. Another ethical principle is beneficence, which is an act of mercy or charity for the sake of doing things to other people. There is a concern for victims in regions with conflicts, casualties, and attacks to access effective care (O’Connor, 2017). Healthcare providers are expected to act professionally and give care to everyone regardless of the underlying circumstances. Healthcare providers find themselves in a bone of contention on whether to act professionally as they also have to worry about their safety and welfare (O’Connor, 2017). Thus, beneficence is likely to influence the resolution of this issue since ethics must be recognized.
Epidemiological Principles on the Resolution of Child Soldiers
Epidemiological Principles can be best understood using the epidemiological triangle (host, environment, and agent). Child soldiers are likely to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorders such as severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks, which may have serious effects on their mental health (Kadir et al., 2018). Child soldiers in environments with socioeconomic status are characterized by attacks and violence that have a very high chance of having illnesses and traumatic injuries. Environments that lack enough healthcare facilities are likely to have more cases of child soldiers suffering from traumatic injuries, which affect their physical development and social interaction. According to Olivier (2018), child soldier cases are constantly increasing in Africa and Middle Eastern Region countries with an association of Islamist activities, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram. Today, the number of child soldiers worldwide is over 300,000, where 120,000 are African (Hynd, 2020).
Global Burden of Disease Associated with Child Soldiers
Even though the exact number of child soldiers across the world, including Africa and Middle Eastern Region, is generally, unknown, it is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 children are serving as child soldiers, where the majority of these children are in Africa (Mlambo et al., 2019). Today, it is widely accepted that serving as child soldiers affects the child’s psychological and physical during the time they serve in armed groups (Haer, 2019). Moreover, more than one in every ten children is directly or indirectly affected by war and conflicts (Kadir, 2018). Therefore, with most of the children seeking to join armed groups to secure protection and a better life, conflicts in these regions will continue to affect children’s health and the healthcare systems.
Conclusion
In summation, child soldiers in Africa and the Middle Eastern Region is not a new phenomenon. The recruitment of child soldiers has affected children’s health and development based on social, mental, and physical aspects. On the same note, the recruitment of child soldiers subjects them to severe cases of diseases, trauma, and environmental exposures since they fight on very harsh conditions. Trauma affects their mental health since they are forced to experience and watch traumatizing events, which, in turn, affects their concentration. As a result, these children are likely to face severe cases of depression or anxiety. Recruitment also affects social and environmental health; hence, making it difficult for the child to fit into the community. Child soldiers also face challenges of being diagnosed with infectious and contagious diseases, which affect their overall health. In other words, the recruitment of child soldiers puts their health at stake because they are vulnerable, which is unethical in the scope of the medical practice. To stop the enrolment of child soldiers, the most effective strategy is to end regional conflicts and wars and embrace peace. Policymakers, ethicists, and governments should also step up in countering the recruitment of child soldiers. Healthcare providers should also collaborate with governments to increase awareness of the adverse effects of recruiting child soldiers to the military.
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