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) – Ukrainian Red Cross Society

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:
Strategy
Operational plan
Legislation (e.g. Law, Regulation, Statutes, Rules of Procedure etc.)

At the National level

Explanation:

In 2018, PSS was included in the URCS strategy, the PSS Unit was created, and the first PSS regulationswere drafted. After a few years of standardization and development and with the support of the MHPSS Delegate in 2021, this regulation was updated and approved by the URCS Presidium (Government Board). 

However, since the escalation of the international armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022 and the enormous MHPSS needs of the population, more efforts and additional documents were needed to coordinate a response. In autumn 2022, URCS launched the development of the Operational One Plan for each sector of the URCS that defines the structure, main directions, and standards of the work. This Plan was developed to guide the response and activities till the end of 2025 so that all partners who want to support URCS have to follow it. This gave more structure, standards, and quality of services in all regions of Ukraine and required fewer resources for capacity building, as we didn’t need to establish completely different activities in each region. The main objectives of the MHPSS Operational One Plan include 3 components, such as: improvement of the psychosocial well-being of the population affected by the war, taking care of the staff and volunteers, who should be prepared for the delivery of services, and integration of the MHPSS into other sectors. 

Together with the Operational Plan, a Strategic document was developed in 2023 to define the main guiding principles of the MHPSS work, framework, objectives, and coordination structure. The URCS follows the MHPSS Pyramid of Support, which ensures that, first and foremost, communities are provided with a basic level of support before providing more focused interventions.  The Ukrainian Red Cross Society is committed to support and work with the local communities most in need of mental health and psychosocial support, including the most vulnerable groups in the communities. The Ukrainian Red Cross Society MHPSS interventions are needs-based and give special attention to children, adults, and older adults exposed to high levels of stress.  

In Ukraine, since the escalation of the international armed conflict, MHPSS has been highly mainstream by the First Lady of Ukraine as one of the priority areas for development in Ukraine. In 2022, an Operational Roadmap was created for this. The development of an Operational Roadmap has been driven by a growing consensus in Ukraine on the need to prioritize activities that are urgently required to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of the country’s population and also the importance of basing the response on existing structures, resources and innovations introduced in reforms in past years. 

URCS follows the national Operational Roadmap and the MHPSS Movement Policy while creating a Strategic document for MHPSS in URCS and Operational One Plan of URCS.

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

Partner with:
Government and/or public authorities
ICRC/IFRC
Other National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies
Humanitarian and development partners (e.g. UN, NGOs etc.)

Examples of cooperation:

URCS works closely with other National Red Cross or Red Crescent societies, IFRC, and ICRC, to provide MHPSS services that the Ukrainian population needs. This cooperation has expanded significantly since the conflict escalation in 2022.

In 2022, URCS established and led a technical working group for MHPSS to support the coordination of the activities. Internal coordination at the sectorial level is done through regular meetings and working groups involving RC partners for regular updates, programmatic support, coordination, and technical assistance. All partners follow the URCS MHPSS strategy and Operational One plan, ensuring community-based psychosocial support is prioritized first and foremost.  

Together with other national Societies, such as the Danish Red Cross, we worked on non-specialized counseling sessions that are widely used by the URCS staff and volunteers in delivering MHPSS services. Together with ICRC, we are working on activity packages for families of missing.

External coordination in the country is active through the National MHPSS Working Group (WG) and regional MHPSS WGs. We involve other organizations in the assessments or building capacity of the URCS staff and volunteers or support other organizations with additional knowledge and preparation of their staff.

Participation in external coordination forums is crucial to align actions with the Ukrainian Roadmap for MHPSS and promote mutual support and complementarity through regular exchange with partners. Furthermore, URCS MHPSS regularly coordinates with the Coordination Center on MHPSS under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and supports MHPSS requests of the Center.  Also, URCS developed cooperation with the Ministry of Veterans, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Social Policy in the provision of basic PSS, training on PFA, and development of the social adaptation package for veterans and their families.  

URCS’s auxiliary role in the country primarily guides national-level interventions supporting the ministries’ program. The areas of partnership, role and responsibilities are based on organizational competencies and capacity outlined in the partnership 

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

With challenges on:
Human resources
Funding constraints
Lack of capacity and/or support (technical, financial, or other)

Details about challenges:

• All MHPSS activities rely on people, so we should have good, qualified, and prepared staff for service delivery. MHPSS activities are not expensive, and often, it is hard to justify a higher percentage of staff in the programs compared to the overall budget. 
• MHPSS needs in Ukraine are huge, as according to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, we will have 15 000 000 people in need of different kinds of MHPSS services. There is not enough staff to support one-third of Ukraine’s population. Low-scale interventions, which are easier to spread, together with mainstreaming MHPSS into other sectors, may help to prevent a lot of complications that may occur if people do not receive needed support. That is why URCS focuses attention on these activities.
• Responding to the MHPSS needs of the population after the escalation of the international armed conflict, URCS needed to scale up activities across multiple areas and across all of Ukraine. This made monitoring and quality oversight challenging because of the lack of capacity and the high speed of the implementation, as the needs were huge. However, after some time, more tools and standards were created to guide the implementation process.

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
Programming and operations have become more effective and efficient
Partnerships with other humanitarian actors have been created or enhanced
Increase in mobilization of resources
Training and capacity of staff and volunteers has increased (for National Societies)

Details about the impact:

As part of the First Lady of Ukraine’s mental health initiative in 2023, the Coordination Center for Mental Health under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was established to lead the process of mapping service providers with needed services, promoting MHPSS needs, and integrating it into all other ministries in Ukraine. URCS also coordinates its work with the Coordination Center for Mental Health.

URCS MHPSS interventions are needs-based and planned according to the Operational Roadmap, with special attention to children, adults, and older adults exposed to high-stress levels. This includes children, adults, or elderly who either have been close to the frontline, were displaced, or live in the local community but have high psychosocial needs. It also relates to veterans, their family members, and people living with a disability who are struggling to adjust to a new life.  

URCS programs become more effective by providing a clear structure for MHPSS and integration into other directions of the URCS and ensuring that MHPSS activities (integrated components and stand-alone programs) across the country are well-coordinated and maintain quality and safety standards. This includes the development and implementation of guidelines, training, and supervision. URCS regional organizations contribute to the standardized approach by choosing the range of MHPSS services most appropriate for their area, including training for first responders, basic support for children and adults, focused support, and/or psychological intervention.   

MHPSS has become a priority for many more organizations inside and outside the movement, and MHPSS aspects of the crisis are taken into consideration while planning the response to beneficiaries. This means that more attention was paid to the preparation of staff and volunteers in other sectors and the integration of the MHPSS into other areas. As mentioned in the MHPSS Movement Policy, staff and volunteers’ well-being should be prioritized, which helped URCS put this component as a basic part of each MHPSS program. So, all staff and volunteers in URCS receive proper training before starting to work with beneficiaries, and there are available activities for taking care of them.

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

Description of the impact:

URCS prioritizes community-based, basic psychosocial services as a first response to a community experiencing distress. These services, including recreational activities for children, stress awareness sessions for adults, and social events for families, help strengthen existing capacities of communities and facilitate the 5 principles of recovery (1) a sense of safety, (2) calming, (3) self- and community efficacy, (4) social connectedness, and (4) hope. When these principles are promoted, communities are more likely to recover by themselves. 

In autumn 2023, with the support of the Danish RC, the needs assessment of the impact of the URCS community-based MHPSS interventions was analyzed. The assessment took place in 6 regions of Ukraine and included KII, focus-group discussion, and phone survey. Main findings of the assessment are the following:

• The study identified that URCS services have a positive impact on the psychosocial well-being of communities, particularly children, and help to decrease feelings of loneliness, strengthen coping mechanisms, and build skills to manage stress. At the same time, there is a need to support adults more.
• Structured activities with a clear psychosocial objective were very well received by communities and are highly relevant to children’s biggest concerns: reducing social anxiety and increasing capacity to build relationships. Adult activities help combat loneliness and build a sense of belonging. In some cases, they serve as a space where adults can problem-solve together with other community members, sharing common challenges and finding solutions. 
• Across the country, MHPSS activities are valued because they offer a place for displaced populations to find a feeling of home, connection and community.
• After attending the activities, children demonstrated reduced levels of fear and increased confidence, and some increased capacity to cope with conflict amongst children in group sessions. Across the study, it was clear that the children’s activities are very well received and offer positive support for both children and parents.  
• In areas where activities were offered for older adults, community members responded very positively. Adults attending noted the opportunity to connect with others and build connections.