There is an enormous gap in human resources for mental health and psychosocial support at a global level. The ramifications of this gap are magnified in situations of armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies, where needs intensify and health systems are overwhelmed. Accordingly, there is a need for innovative and promising approaches that can reach more people affected in the most cost-effective way possible. In such contexts in which resources are scarce, access is limited, and gaps in service provision are high, digital psychological and psychosocial support services open up ways of connecting with more people in need.
The Digital MHPSS Working Group, representing 21 National Societies from 4 regions, the IFRC and the ICRC and chaired by the Swiss Red Cross (SRC), supported the implementation of the MHPSS Roadmap and the Digital MHPSS Pledge. The findings presented in a consolidated form here in this Focus Area on Digital MHPSS originate on the one hand from the meetings and discussions of the Digital MHPSS Working group and on the other hand they were developed by the SRC in collaboration with Kristofer Vernmark, an external consultant and digital mental health expert.
This Focus Area on Digital MHPSS is to raise awareness for evidence-based digital MHPSS, to create opportunities for learning and to provide practice-oriented, accessible guidance for the effective and efficient implementation of digital MHPSS initiatives at a local and global level within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement).
To continue the important work beyond the MHPSS Roadmap period, committed members of the Digital MHPSS Working Group formed the Digital MHPSS Community of Practice and Learning. This thematic CoPL will provide practical guidance to the best of its knowledge. It also supports with referrals to respective experts in National Societies and links to relevant resources and learning opportunities. If you need support, if you have interesting resources, good practice examples of digital MHPSS, knowledge to share or if you want to join the digital MHPSS CoPL, send us an email to digital_mhpss@redcross.ch.
Explore the five sections above: Facts and learning material that provide a comprehensible initiation to the topic you find in “Introduction”, an overview of the current state of knowledge you can expect in “Learn about digital MHPSS”, interesting scientific articles and reports are made available in “Dive deeper”, good practice examples of digital MHPSS services within (and beyond) the Movement you find in “Get inspired” and a step-by-step guide awaits you in “Get started”.
