ABSTRACT
Dangers abound for children in the countries of this region: War, civil strife, and a rising wave of organized violence and ethnic conflict have disrupted the lives of millions. About a third of the region's countries have erupted in armed conflict since 1988. The toll on children reads like a terrible litany: Children killed in crossfire, children wounded and maimed, children separated from their families; orphaned, left homeless, malnourished, and traumatized. Out of the approximately 6 million to 8 million people in the region who have been displaced or have become refugees, at least 2 million are children.
