Making psychosocial support programmes in emergencies inclusive: lessons learned from interventions in Rohingya camps

Abstract

This personal reflection describes how Humanity and Inclusion (HI) has implemented inclusive modalities of intervention since the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh in 2017. We focus on how to improve the cultural acceptance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services in this context. We explore the issue of stigma towards users of mental health services and misconceptions about this kind of service within the Rohingya community. This article provides an overview of HI’s programme, describing how it was adapted to address barriers and better contribute to the right to health of vulnerable populations. During the influx period, operating through mobile teams was found to be one of the best ways to respond to increasing needs. However, as the months unfolded and needs changed, a key modality of this intervention was community self-support based on peer-to-peer activities. Without advocating for replication of this specific case study, this field report documents ongoing practice in an emergency context and shows how professionalism and creativity are entangled in making MHPSS services really inclusive.

Keywords

• community-based approach
• inclusion
• psychosocial services
• rohingya response