A) Objetivos de la promesa
This pledge relates to the resolution “Addressing mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by armed conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies”.
Among humanitarian actors and the Danish Governmental structure alike, it is recognised that armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies has a significant impact on the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of affected populations, with potential serious and long-lasting human, social and economic consequences for the individuals concerned as well as society at large.
Early and appropriate response to the mental health and psychosocial needs in humanitarian emergencies is therefore critical to the survival and daily functioning of affected people, their enjoyment of human rights, and their access to protection and assistance. Yet, there is an enormous gap in mental health and psychosocial services in low- and middle-income countries, and the ramifications of this gap is exacerbated in emergencies. There is an urgent need to promote scale-up of capacity for early response in this area, sustained investment in ongoing support and systems strengthening in protracted crises and across the humanitarian-development nexus, and capturing learnings across different contexts to inform future response, if we are to leave no one behind.
This pledge aims at strengthening the Danish Government and Danish Red Cross supported international preparedness and emergency response to increasingly reflect and address mental health and psychosocial needs, and strengthen shared learning and synergies with other Danish humanitarian actors. Danish Red Cross has strong capacity and experience in providing mental health and psychosocial support in international programming and hosts the international Refence Centre for Psychosocial Support. Danish Red Cross works through strengthening the preparedness and response capacity of partner Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, often with a particular focus on mental health and psychosocial support, providing a strong platform for strengthening local preparedness and emergency response in affected communities. DIGNITY has extensive expertise and experience with rehabilitation of traumatized refugees in Denmark, and support local rehabilitation organisations around the world with both specialized services as well as mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies. Save the Children Denmark (SCD) has extensive expertise within child- and family focused Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS), supporting interventions in fragile and humanitarian contexts to improve access to cross-sectoral multi-layered MHPSS. The MHPSS Collaborative, hosted by SCD, also convenes global level actors and conducts research and advocacy.
The time frame of this pledge is 2019-2023.
B) Plan de acción
Therefore, to strengthen international preparedness and emergency response capacity Denmark and Danish Red Cross commit to the following actions:
- Promote the prioritisation of mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings in national and international forums;
- Promote integration of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing as part of humanitarian response to both sudden-onset emergencies and protracted crisis situations;
- Recognize the need for including, where appropriate, mental health and psychosocial support in the objectives and eligible activities of calls for proposals and grants to ensure that these needs are considered in preparedness and response interventions;
- Ensure, where appropriate, attention to mental health and psychosocial support aspects in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services and implementation of survivor-oriented Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) standards in supported interventions;
- Support the integration of mental health and psychosocial support components in formal and non-formal education activities and youth programmes to address the particular risks and vulnerabilities faced by children and youth;
- Explore how International Humanitarian Law and other areas of international law promote and protect mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in support of developing global discourse on the issue through research and seminar activities;
- Encourage the promotion and protection of the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of those responding to humanitarian needs across all sectors and interventions supported by Denmark and Danish Red Cross;
- Support psychological first aid (PFA) response capacity and integration of caring for staff and volunteers’ components and support systems of partner National Societies in Danish Red Cross’ 15 priority countries
Denmark, Danish Red Cross, Save the Children Denmark and DIGNITY jointly commit to:
- Assess how a more holistic response ranging from basic psychosocial support through to specialised mental health care services can be supported 1-2 selected country contexts, addressing both immediate needs, as well as longer term system strengthening;
- Actively engage the experience, knowledge and perspective of people with lived experience in national and international events, development of approaches and tools, and in identifying priority areas for intervention, as relevant.
- Identify synergies and good practice through shared learning and innovation events and a conference hosted by the Danish Government and civil society partners in Denmark;
- On the basis of documentation of best practices and learning promote a stronger understanding of the need to address mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian contexts through popular engagement in Denmark.
C) Indicadores para medir los avances:
- # international forums / events where Denmark, Danish Red Cross, Save the Children Denmark and / or DIGNITY have brought attention to mental health and psychosocial needs in humanitarian crisis situations, actively engaging the experience, knowledge and perspective of people with lived experience
- # of call for proposals / grants that include mental health and psychosocial support as objectives or sub-objectives for humanitarian response and health interventions and eligible activities
- Mental health and psychosocial support services form part of SRHR programmes, and is an integrated element of SGBV programming
- % of non-formal education and youth programmes that include psychosocial components
- Research conducted on IHL protections of mental health and psychosocial support
- Seminars and / or discussion forums and legal blogs on IHL protections of mental health and psychosocial support
- % of Danish Red Cross priority country portfolios with PFA and Caring for Staff and Volunteers mainstreamed
- Potential gaps and complementarity across Danish actors’ support to mental health and psychosocial support identified in selected joint priority countries and synergies identified
- Shared learning and innovation events and a conference held in Denmark
D) Recursos requeridos:
There will be resource implications associated with the proposed review /studies, as well as the shared learning event.
