Humanitarian Assistance including Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Government and Community Site Management in Displacement-Affected Locations in Ethiopia. The proposed intervention will provide joint Site Management Support (SMS) assistance and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in displacement affected locations in Oromia and Dire Dawa regions. MHPSS support will also be provided in quarantine centers in Addis Ababa. 

Building on current activities, the project will offer interventions over the 4 layers of the pyramid of MHPSS intervention, as per the IASC Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Guidelines in Emergency Settings: with SMS focusing on layer 1, by working to ensure that basic services are provided in a dignified and non-harmful fashion, and with MHPSS covering layer 2, community and family support, layer 3, focused, non-specialized support, and layer 4, through referrals to specialized services.

SMS: The proposed response will support Site Management authorities (national, sub-national, local) improve Living Conditions and Community Participation in IDP Sites and return areas, through the provision of SMS. The intervention will support IDPs and returnees within targeted sites and Kebeles in West Guji, East and West Wollega, West Hararge and Dire Dawa, through Coordination amp Information Management, Site Improvement including Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Community Participation amp Self-Governance and Capacity Building. 

In the context of COVID-19, SMS will replace or adapt their standard community participation activities to focus on Risk Communication, in coordination with Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) actors. Some community participation activities will be replaced through cascading modalities of Communication with Communities (CwC). Alternatives such as toll-free hotlines are established to help continue running of community feedback mechanisms (CFMs). Capacity building will take the form of on-the-job mentoring of government Site Managers, including remotely and production of self-study (e.g. digital/audio-visual) training materials and corresponding tools that can be used by Site Managers and other relevant stakeholders. Staff managing the hotlines will receive training on how to ethically respond to protection concerns, especially any disclosure of a GBV incident.
 
MHPSS: The response will contribute to the humanitarian response in Ethiopia to the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering critical MHPSS and case management services to ensure continuum of care while continuing awareness on rights of people with MH conditions, general protection and newly developed health and MH messaging adapted to COVID.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to both the physical and mental health of IDP’s, migrants and to their psychosocial well-being. IDP’s, returnees, and migrants are likely to be affected by adversity related to the virus, encompassing uncertainty about their future, lost livelihoods opportunities, financial hardship, potential loss of loved ones, stigma, and the perduring effects of isolation as well as a general sense of fear. These concerns are already causing negative psychological reactions that can worsen or exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions or vulnerabilities. Proposed activities will be conducted in IDP sites as well as in quarantine centers. 

Enriched by its long experience serving the migrant community, IOM will support the psychosocial pillar of the MHPSS intervention plan for quarantine centers proposed by the government and will ensure the response includes vulnerability screening and safe referrals. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, project activities will be tailored to follow do no harm principles. Capacity building will be provided to frontlines /service providers, including medical staff/health, university psychology professors, and extension workers. The training for the front liners is aimed at reducing wrong beliefs and decreasing stigma, along with crucial self-care tips and ensuring a better response.