A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.... For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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This is one of seven Medical Peace Work cases.
A policy brief on the organization of prison health
Every five minutes a child dies as the result of violence, according to a ground-breaking report from Unicef UK. The report reveals that the vast majority of children are killed outside warzones and that physical, sexual and emotional abuse is widespread with millions of children unsafe in their hom...es, schools and communities. Some 345 children could die from violence each day in the next year, unless governments act.
The report also finds that:
(1) Children who are victims of violence have brain activity similar to soldiers exposed to combat;
(2) A third of children who are victims of violence are likely to develop long-lasting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder;
(3) Those living in poverty are more likely to be victims of violence, wherever they live in the world;
(4) Over 7% of child deaths due to violence each day are the result of interpersonal violence, rather than conflict.
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Training for Health Care Providers
Facilitators’ Manual
Findings from this report reveal that, rates of early marriage are high, a significant percentage of children contribute to the household’s income or are its main source of income, and restrictions on the mobility of women and girls constrain their participation in social and economic activities a...nd their access to basic services. As the overwhelming majority of refugees do not have paid employment and rely mainly on aid and dwindling family resources, the more the situation of displacement is prolonged the greater the likelihood of higher rates of child labour for boys and early marriage for girls.
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First Edition~ This self advocacy toolkit for persons with mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders, developed by Basic Needs and CBM, is the end product of an action research intervention that tracked and documented processes for Self Advocacy in low resourced communities of Uganda. Th...is toolkit presents simple and easy to apply principals and is a replica of good practices identified in the Consumer empowerment project implemented by BasicNeeds UK in Uganda between April 2005 and March 2008.
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UNFPA launches Journalist’s Handbook: Reporting on Gender-Based Violence in Syria Crisis
Amman, 9 March 2015 – Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali, UNFPA launched a handbook on Reporting on Gender-Based Violence in the Syria Crisis to help journalists better understand ...issues surrounding gender-based violence (GBV) and to write about it more effectively and sensitively.
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WHO clinical and policy guidelines
New research published today shows that older, disabled and injured Syrian refugees are paying a double toll as a result of the conflict. The report, released by Handicap International and HelpAge International, provides new data showing how much these vulnerable refugees are struggling to meet thei...r specific needs
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The handbook is the first comprehensive collection of practical tips for journalists on how to report on GBV in the context of Syria crisis, building upon internationally recognised ethical principles. It gives an overview of techniques to guarantee the safety, confidentiality and dignity of survivo...rs, their families and communities. It includes terms, ethical questions and practical concerns associated with covering GBV, as well as an overview of some of the organisations involved in both combatting GBV and providing support services for survivors.
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This guidance is intended to be one stop shop to improve the quality and effectiveness of health interventions in emergency, to respond to the most frequent scenarios and conditions.
The main document contains the most common elements to be found in emergencies. As much as possible they are one pag...e tables on one topic each with the key elements that ensure quality in column 2 of the table. Column 1 is about key information. Column 3 contains suggested indicators and column 4 helps decision making. This is a document to consult as needed, not really to read from front to last page
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