Report on – 33rd IC Resolution 2: Addressing mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by armed conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies (33IC/19/R2) – Government of Canada

Has your State/National Society/Institution incorporated the commitments contained in this resolution into the relevant strategic or operational plans?

The commitments are incorporated into:
Operational plan

At the International, National level

Explanation:

• Canada provides flexible funding to its key humanitarian partners, including UNHCR and UNFPA, which can be used to help crisis-affected populations access mental health and psychosocial support services.
• Canada supported the launch of the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. One of those principles is “to actively promote and support research on the trauma experienced by personnel confronting child soldiers and interacting with children affected by armed conflict, and to provide appropriate pre-deployment preparation, as well as mental health support during and post-deployment.”
• In addition, Canada has supported the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) to embed MPHSS within its international programming and response capacities. Technical support and strategic guidance are provided within international operations, including Emergency Response Unit (ERU) deployments and longer-term programming, in alignment with the Movement Framework for MHPSS.
• Canada has also supported the CRC to integrate the MHPSS framework in Levels 3-5 of their emergency response (pan Canadian response). There are six sectors of support defined in the framework:

• • Capacity Strengthening (internal/external) 

• • Assessments 

• • Safe and Supportive Environments (protective environments) 

• • Community Engagement/Mobilization 

• •  Direct Services to populations impacted by emergencies across interventions (specialized support provided through partnership/funding) 

• • Support to CRC personnel wellness.  

Has your State/National Society/Institution been working with other partners to implement the commitments contained in this resolution?

Partner with:
National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in your country
ICRC/IFRC
Humanitarian and development partners (e.g. UN, NGOs etc.)

Examples of cooperation:

• As noted above, Canada provides flexible funding to its key humanitarian partners, including UNHCR and UNFPA, which can be used to help crisis-affected populations access mental health and psychosocial support services. As a specific example, UNFPA, with Canadian funding and support from other donors, has undertaken critical initiatives related to psychosocial support for women and girls affected by SGBV in Ukraine. This includes the operation of 24 mobile psychosocial support teams; support for the operation of 18 safe spaces, 3 daycares and 9 services delivery points across Ukraine; and prepositioning supplies and distributing dignity kits to women and girls, especially survivors of SGBV. 

• As well, through Grand Challenges Canada in 2021-22, Canada committed $15.9 million to fund innovations in 33 countries to address challenges in humanitarian settings, including for mental health.  Canada provided a further $32 million  to Grand Challenges Canada in 2022-23 to fund innovations in 42 countries, and continue work to address mental health and other key areas. 

• With Canada’s support, the CRC integrates MHPSS into all programs and services to steward safe and supportive environments for diverse communities experiencing emergencies. The team works directly with affected communities to complete community led MHPSS assessments and engages with partners such as provincial ministries of health, regional municipal governments and community wellness committees.  

• Since 2022, Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) alongside CRC has supported the resettlement of Ukrainians, providing reception services at Canadian airports. CRC clinicians and mental health specialists made over 19,000 contacts to address immediate psychosocial needs and provide referrals for those needing medical attention or struggling to cope with the impacts on their mental health. CRC also partnered with Lviv Hospital in Ukraine, to make mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) available to admitted patients, including individualized trauma therapy.   

Have you encountered any challenges in implementing the commitments contained in this resolution?

With challenges on:
Other

Details about challenges:

Multi-crisis events impacting the same communities, including equity-deserving communities, represents an ongoing and increasing challenge as many of the MH and PSS models/activities/approaches are designed/conceived for singular events which may not always consider compounding impacts of emergencies.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the work and direction of your State/National Society/Institution?

Type of Impact:
Cooperation between Government/public authorities and National Society has been strengthened

Details about the impact:

See above examples outlining partnership between the Canadian Government and the CRC. With Canada’s support, the CRC has been able to expand its service scope and implementation. The CRC increased its capacity for assessing mental health impacts of emergencies to communities, providing a baseline to develop evidence-informed service plans and approaches to address immediate MHPSS needs of people it supports.  

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the communities that your State/National Society/Institution serves?

Description of the impact:

Full integration of MHPSS within the emergency management continuum has significantly impacted outcomes within communities affected by emergencies. Since 2020, Canada has supported the CRC to deliver mental health and psychosocial support to over 80 response operations conducting over 155,000 contacts to impacted individuals.