Abstract
Background: The ongoing war in Sudan has resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis to date, and the widespread violence and displacement has resulted in poor mental health outcomes. This study explores the mental health impact of violence and displacement on women and girls fleeing the conflict in Sudan to South Sudan.
Methods: A cross sectional, mixed methods study was conducted in South Sudanese settlement sites in July 2024. The study gathered data on women’s and girls’ experiences of migration across the border from Sudan to South Sudan at Aweil North, using a sensemaking approach which captured micronarratives from participants aged 13+. Qualitative data were screened manually for inclusion, and narratives related to mental health and resilience were analyzed thematically.
Results: A total of 327 narratives were included in the study. Main themes included experiences of psychological trauma, impact of trauma, life at settlement centres and resilience. Our study found high levels of traumatic experiences amongst study participants, including sexual violence, death or killing of a family member, torture, and abduction, with a wide range of mental health impacts. The lack of support and services at settlement centres appeared to compound these concerns. Despite adversity many participants demonstrated resilience, indicating the potential for post-traumatic growth.
Conclusions: Our study found strong evidence of the mental health impact of the ongoing war and insufficient aid in South Sudanese settlement centres amongst women and girls. As resilient behaviours were found amongst study participants, interventions which harness resiliency may help foster post-traumatic growth in this population. Finally, as both mental health research and humanitarian response in this area are often overlooked, there is a clear need for coordinated advocacy efforts to increase mental health support and services in response to this ongoing conflict.