The population of Afghanistan is suffering not only from war but also poverty, social injustice and the disruption of education and healthcare systems and of social support networks. Surveys have shown frequent mental health problems among adults, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Little is known, however, about the effects on children. Two relatively small surveys in 1997 and 2001–2002 gave conflicting results, one claiming that children's lives were dominated by fear and sadness and the other that they were not. Now a 2006 survey (Catherine Panter-Brick and colleagues. Lancet 2009;374 …