Strengthening the provision of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programming to GBV survivors and conflict affected populations in Northern Ethiopia (Tigray and Amhara) This proposed intervention will strengthen the provision of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) programming to Gender-based Violence (GBV) survivors and conflict affected populations in Tigray (Mekelle, Shire, Adwa and including the expansion into Shirer) and Amhara (Gondar) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) sites. 

In line with IOM’s Institutional Framework for Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Crisis, and IOM’s Manual on Community-Based MHPSS in Emergencies and Displacement, this project aims to support survivors of GBV and mitigate the risks of GBV through expanding GBV services from within IOM’s existing MHPSS program. Building on the existing implementation of psychosocial activities for conflict affected populations in Tigray and Amhara and expanding in new locations (Shiraro and Debark), the project will help to address the need of GBV survivors and other vulnerable individuals through direct individual/group counselling support, referral support, training of relevant stakeholders, community awareness creation sessions related to GBV service availability and risk mitigation including on stress copying activities.

IOM will adapt community self-help and resilience strategies to support GBV survivors, people with special needs, and vulnerable women and girls through women’s group discussions, referrals, and recreational socio-relational activities as a part of psychosocial support (PSS) which could equip women and girls with knowledge, skills, supportive network, and self-confidence. The group discussion also contributes directly and indirectly to their psychological wellbeing as the group will also function as a space to rebuild social support and share coping strategies and ideas among each other. In addition to the direct psychosocial support service provision for GBV survivors, IOM will also refer them for different services depending on their individual needs, including for clinical management of rape cases to hospitals or health facilities providing the specialized services.

From similar projects, IOM learnt that the group sessions were helpful for women and girls to discuss common issues, seek peer support and for staff to provide information and referral to specialized services. According to WHO, 2019 Mental health in emergencies’ publication, one in five (22%) population  living in an area affected by conflict is estimated to have depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Similarly, according to UNICEF one in three women and girls worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. Armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies can significantly weaken a society’s ability to protect women and girls from gender-based violence.  
In this project, IOM targets to address the needs of 51,438 conflict affected IDPs and vulnerable host community members in selected IDPs sites in Tigray and Amhara regions. The targeting of beneficiaries for this project, considered the above prevalence of mental health and protection concerns in conflict settings.