Child public health interventions for conflict-affected populations: A systematic review

Armed conflict causes pervasive harm to children, and humanitarian responses to support them face significant challenges. This review aims to summarise the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to treat, protect, and promote child public health in conflict-affected populations. A systematic review was performed, with searches of major databases and the grey literature from 1 January 2012 – 20 February 2025. Included studies provided data on child or caregiver outcomes associated with interventions to support children affected by armed conflict. Studies on nutrition and perinatal interventions were excluded. Data were extracted on the setting, population, intervention design, study type, and findings. The searches yielded 3,601 records. 51 intervention studies met inclusion criteria, 39% of which were trials. Studies were mainly from Africa (51%), the Middle East (25%) and Asia (18%). The majority of studies focused on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) (N = 29, 57%). MHPSS, child protection, and/or parenting interventions were the focus of trials as well as intersectoral interventions. Somatic child health interventions (N = 19, 37%) focused on immunisation, ad