At 8:30am (GMT-4) on 14 August, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti. Haiti’s Civil Protection reports at least 304 deaths and 1,800 injured so far, while these figures are expected to rise.
“The multitude of emergencies that continue to affect Haiti require the greatest effort from organisations and colleagues in the country. We commit to do everything we can do to support their work,” says Carmen Valle-Trabedelo, Co-Chair IASC Reference Group on MHPSS in Emergency Settings and Member of the IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support.
Severe humanitarian access constraints and fragile security situations greatly complicate the humanitarian response in the context of the #COVID19 pandemic.
Multiple organisations in country, at regional level and internationally, are already providing the much-needed response. The mental health and psychological well-being of the affected populations must be part of the priority actions. To succeed, coordination and collaboration is essential.
The IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support and WHO co-chair the IASC MHPSS Reference Group, which provides this necessary coordination among its over 60 member agencies. In today’s global call, more than 50 actors shared their activities and support to the Haiti response.
The PS Centre has published several guides that can support those impacted by the recent events. These resource provide suggestions on coping with crisis and stress, offer psychological first aid, support children in distress and to take care of yourself.
Access the following resources in French:
Coping with stress and crisis
Children’s Stress – their reactions and how to support them, for parents and caregivers
Working in stressful situations
Psychological First Aid
The psychoeducational materials for emergencies are available in additional languages. Access these resources in the PS Centre’s Resource Library.