Promoting Psychosocial Wellbeing of Children in East Africa Community
Psychosocial wellbeing is when individuals, families, or communities have cognitive, emotional, and spiritual strengths combined with positive social relationships. This state of wellbeing motivates the development of life skills which enables individuals, families or communities to understand and engage with their environment, and make healthy choices which leads to hope for the future.
Children and youth across East Africa experience a range of challenges which affect their overall development. These challenges include HIV and AIDS, poverty, orphan hood, unemployment, limited access to basic services such as education and health (including sexual reproductive health), abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect. Studies show the negative short- and long-term psychosocial and mental health impacts of these challenges.
The EAC together with the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative are developing a programme to:
- work with other stakeholders to develop and domesticate the minimum package of services for children and youth in the region;
- develop indicators for psychosocial support and strengthen monitoring capacity at Partner States level;
- sensitise and raise awareness at the EAC Secretariat, to parliamentarians in the East African Legislative Assembly and to Policy makers at Partner States level on the psychosocial needs of children and youth in the region;
- create platforms to share good practices and information across countries so as to promote the psychosocial wellbeing of children and youth in the region;
- support EAC Partner States to develop, implement and monitor initiatives to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of children and youth; and,
- jointly mobilise resources to strengthen the capacity of mainstreaming and delivering psychosocial support in the region.