{"id":35520,"date":"2021-03-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ready-for-feedback3.com\/shape-history\/fmr\/harrison-chemaly-hanna-polutanteulieres-ventevogel\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T15:28:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T20:28:40","slug":"harrison-chemaly-hanna-polutanteulieres-ventevogel","status":"publish","type":"fmr_content","link":"https:\/\/www.fmreview.org\/es\/issue66\/harrison-chemaly-hanna-polutanteulieres-ventevogel\/","title":{"rendered":"Engagement of protection actors in MHPSS: the need for cross-sectoral cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people living in areas affected by violence and conflict experience a negative impact on their mental health, and one in five develop a mental health condition, which is much higher than for populations not affected by conflict.[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> Affected people may require focused psychosocial support or clinical mental health and psychological services. First and foremost, however, affected people need supportive social networks and to have their basic needs and security met in ways that preserve their dignity and agency, and uphold their rights. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last decade, supporting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of people affected by conflicts, disasters and public health emergencies has gained recognition as a vital part of the humanitarian response.[2]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> The 2007 IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings<\/em> have positioned MHPSS as an interdisciplinary field that requires a collaborative approach between multiple humanitarian disciplines.[3]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> In 2019, t<\/span><\/span>he global leadership for humanitarian response (the IASC Principals) re-affirmed the decision to \u201ctreat MHPSS as a cross-cutting issue that has relevance within health, protection, nutrition, education and Camp Coordination and Camp Management sectors\/clusters, in all emergencies\u201d.[4]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Humanitarian programmes tend to focus on a specific sector while individuals, families and communities in emergency settings often present with multiple problems and needs that cut across sectoral definitions. Since 2007, strong technical tools for specific MHPSS interventions have been developed in areas such as health, nutrition, education, gender-based violence and child protection. But the whole humanitarian response needs to adopt an MHPSS approach. This implies providing humanitarian assistance in ways that support the mental health and psychosocial well-being of persons of concern even when the primary focus of the intervention is sectoral. In short, promoting and protecting psychological well-being (positive mental health) and delivering MHPSS services must be firmly embedded within sectors and delivered across sectors. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Objectives, resources and structure <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing MHPSS requires a clearly defined space for the topic within humanitarian coordination structures. The IASC Principals agreed in their 2019 meeting to \u201c<\/span><\/span>reflect MHPSS indicators in relevant planning documents and establish dedicated budget lines, as well as specific MHPSS codes within financial tracking systems and to support the creation and the work of country-level MHPSS Working Groups in all migration, refugee and humanitarian contexts as crosscutting groups\u201d. UN agencies recently re-affirmed these decisions in their <\/span><\/span>Joint Interagency Call for Action.[5]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are currently 50 multisectoral MHPSS Working Groups (WGs) active in humanitarian settings, serving as platforms where agencies involved in MHPSS programming can discuss programming issues. These are technical forums that work across clusters and sectors \u2013 and with focal points in these where relevant \u2013 but do not replace the role of clusters and sectors, which retain accountability for activities and reporting. The exact configuration and co-leadership should be decided at country level by the involved MHPSS actors but MHPSS WGs are ideally co-chaired by a health agency and a protection agency to balance diverse and complementary approaches. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Integrating community-based MHPSS approaches into other sectors <\/span><\/span><\/a>often involves working in a different way rather than taking on new tasks: providing existing services in an effective way (focusing on dignity, agency and participation of affected populations) rather than requiring stand-alone \u2018psychosocial programmes\u2019 to be developed.[6]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A protective environment <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the four protection principles in the Sphere Handbook is to \u201cassist people to recover from the physical and psychological effects of threatened or actual violence, coercion or deliberate deprivation\u201d.[7]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> It is essential therefore that all humanitarian actors pay attention to the psychological consequences of human rights violations and to the fact that forced displacement affects people differently depending on age, gender and diversity. <\/span><\/span>Without a protective environment it is impossible to address the MHPSS needs of affected individuals, families and communities.<\/span><\/span> The capacity of people and families to take action to claim their rights is negatively affected by pervasive demoralisation, feelings of depression and anxiety, memories related to past events of violence and loss, and worries about current life circumstances and the future.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Protection concerns can cause or aggravate MHPSS conditions and equally MHPSS conditions can cause or aggravate protection concerns<\/a>. In emergency settings, the rights of people with severe mental health conditions are often violated \u2013 even more pervasively than in stable situations. The capacity of people and families to take actions to claim their rights is negatively affected by the mental health and psychosocial consequences of conflict, violence and disasters. Addressing these consequences contributes to protection by strengthening the agency of people to effectively address their protection issues. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Protection actors need to understand the impact of intersecting characteristics of the affected population, with particular attention to cross-cutting issues and continuity of care across a person\u2019s lifespan. They can strengthen MHPSS in their work by: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n