Guiding Framework for MHPSS in Development Cooperation in the context of Syria and Iraq
GIZ
Highlights
This paper was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2015, and produced by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in cooperation with German civil society actors and freelance psychologists working in the field of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) with refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) in both the Middle Eastern region and Germany. The commission arose from BMZ's wish for guidance on the characteristics of good working practices in MHPSS and the desire expressed by GIZ's civil society partners in the regional programme Psychosocial Support for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced People for more intensive dialogue to promote MHPSS in the context of the Syria and Iraq crises.
This guiding framework is therefore a contextually adapted, joint position paper for German development cooperation that reflects the current status of the debate among the institutions and experts involved as to what constitutes good psychosocial work with refugees and IDP, and what risks need to be taken into account in the course of that work. It is designed for actors in the MHPSS sector who are working with refugees and IDP in the Middle East in the context of the Syria and Iraq crises, as well as ministries and research institutions.