The project, developed in 2007 with our partners in China, focuses on the needs of primary school children at up to twelve months post disaster and aims to provide support for their care-givers and communities.

Project principles and activities

  • has been developed collaboratively by Australian and Chinese mental health experts, in partnership with local teachers and other community health workers in disaster prone areas.
  • provides clear simple guidelines and delivery mechanisms for local community leaders who may have no access to stable, comprehensive and well-resourced community infrastructure
  • enables prompt access for caregivers to support the most vulnerable disaster victims
  • is evaluated by Institute of International Studies, University of Technology, Sydney

The project materials have been designed to be flexible and transferable within China and to serve as prototypes for use in other communities in the Asian region.

Evaluation I Resources I Promotion

Stage One of the Protecting Children in Disasters project has been independently evaluated. Final_Evaluators_Stage1_Children_Project_Edwards [pdf, 459 kb, 12 pages].

The Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University and Chair of the 2020 Summit, Prof. Glyn Davis, recently praised the efforts of AAMH for their contribution in protecting the post-disaster mental health of the children of Sichuan. Comments from Prof Glyn Davis

Read a speech by AAMH Co-Director A/Prof Chee Ng, on the work by AAMH in China and in particular Sichuan.

UPDATE: Read how the resources from this project have proved vital in the Sichuan earthquake mental health response

UPDATE: Listen to a radio program about AAMH’s involvement in the Sichuan earthquake mental health response