Rebuilding Lives: MHPSS in Protracted and Post-Conflict Settings

Rebuilding Lives: MHPSS in Protracted and Post-Conflict Settings

2019

Summary:

There is evidence to suggest that millions of people worldwide continue to experience severely distressing events from armed conflict and humanitarian disasters. These experiences are also high-risk factors for developing mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and other stress-related conditions. Certain vulnerable groups are further susceptible to the emotional and social burden of mental health challenges and require longer-term mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that requires extending the reach of humanitarian assistance.

To address this need, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) held an expert meeting in Berlin on the 4th and 5th of July, 2018. The meeting was titled 'Rebuilding Lives: Addressing Needs, Scaling-up and Increasing Long-term Structural MHPSS Interventions in Protracted and Post-Conflict Settings'. The discussions, findings and recommendations of this expert meeting are summarized in the report attached to this page.

Highlights:

  • The 'Rebuilding Lives' event outlined the contributions of the development sector and the longer-term structural support needs in the area of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing
  • It represented a call for collective action to advocate for and invest in mental health and psychosocial support for people displaced by conflict
  • The meeting gathered over 50 participants from donor, governmental, academic, UN, NGO and other civil society organizations
  • Discussions at the meeting were instilled with perspectives from all levels and, in particular, included strong input from the field
  • The Berlin meeting was an important step in sustaining the journey from the UNICEF symposium held in May 2015 in The Hague, in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands, and the Wilton Park Dialogue organized by Save the Children and the Government of the United Kingdom

Cover Image: © Anne Lehmann

Details

Type
Implementation
Approach(es)
Human rights
Treatment, care and rehabilitation
Disorder(s)
Depression/anxiety/stress-related disorders
Region(s)
Africa
Europe
Middle East
Population(s)
Humanitarian and conflict health
Setting(s)
Community
Primary care