The Technical Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (TWG-SMSPS) for the Far North region, under the co-lead of the United Nations Migration Agency (International Organization for Migration (IOM)), was presented at the French-speaking session of the MHPSS reference group of the Interagency Scale Committee (IASC).
Chaired by Cecile Bizoueme and Barbara Levin, both members of the IASC MHPSS, this session brought together participants from French-speaking countries such as Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Haiti.
The session was an opportunity for IOM to demonstrate its commitment and expertise in coordinating mental health and psychosocial support stakeholders at local level. In addition, the IOM presentation highlighted the objectives of the MHPSS Technical Working Group, how it works, the responsibilities of its members, the checklist of coordination tools and the MHPSS TWG information.
The presentation, described as “very clear and very rich” by Cecile Bizoueme, chair of the session, because of its substantial content and the specific activities it highlighted, notably the production of information sheets, the organisation and joint celebration of international mental health days, etc., was unanimously applauded by all the participants. The IOM was congratulated by all present, and it was hoped that the various documents presented would be shared.
The Far North Technical Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (TWG-MHPSS), established on 4 March 2021 under the lead of the Regional Public Health Delegation and the IOM Co-lead, is the first of its kind in the country. Its aim is to coordinate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) efforts to help communities affected by the crisis. The group holds monthly meetings in line with its initial action plan, and brings together government, UN agencies, local and international NGOs. Its actions include capacity building, multi-sectoral assessments, organisation of theme days, mobilisation and monitoring in emergency situations, and information management.
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