Paper long abstract:

During my ethnographic fieldwork, in wartime northern Uganda, a context where there were various interventions intended to ensure children's wellbeing, I presented to healthcare institutions what the children themselves identified as priorities and needs. In this paper, I will discuss my experience with disseminating children's own needs and priorities. I will examine my experiences with bridging the gap between children's healthcare needs and existing interventions under themes (1) the state-led healthcare services, and (2) the humanitarian agencies' healthcare interventions. The data presented was collected over a one-year period in 2004 to 2005 with children aged 9 to 16 years. Key informants included two psychiatrists, five nurses, two paediatricians, seven NGO coordinators, fifteen counsellors, twenty-eight primary school teachers, five primary school head teachers, four camp leaders, and thirteen drug shop and clinic owners. Parents and legal guardians were interviewed to assess their perspectives about children's healthcare priorities.