How can Mental Health and Psychosocial Support contribute to the goal of the World Humanitarian Summit: "to commit to new ways of working together to save lives and reduce hardship around the globe"?

People who are affected by crises are often exposed to very distressing experiences such as loss of loved ones, loss of home, loss of income, loss of dignity, sexual and gender-based violence, and war atrocities. These experiences often lead to anxiety, feelings of distrust and hopelessness, and can have immediate as well as long-term consequences for individuals, families and communities.

The integration of mental health and psychosocial support into humanitarian support is critical to supporting resilience, to helping those affected to access life-saving services, to restore day-to-day functioning, and to help recovery.

Four panelists will describe how Mental Health and Psychosocial Support can contribute to the four themes of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The presentations will be followed by a discussion.

•  - Humanitarian effectiveness
•  - Reducing vulnerability and managing risk
•  - Transformation through innovation
•  - Serving the needs of people in conflict

Sabine Rakotomalala is the Deputy Coordinator of the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG). She has over 15 years of professional experience in the field of child protection, namely within WHO as well as child protection emergencies adviser at Terre des Hommes.

Guglielmo Schininà is the head of the IOM Mental Health, Psychosocial Response and Intercultural Communications Section and director of the Summer School in Psychosocial Interventions in Migration, Emergency, and Displacement at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa.

Mark van Ommeren is public mental health advisor at the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse of WHO in Geneva, with a focus on MHPSS for people affected by emergencies. He was also the initiator and former co-chair of the IASC Task Force on MHPSS in Emergency Settings.

Margriet Blaauw is co-chair of the IASC Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. She has worked in mental health and psychosocial support programmes, and in programmes for the rehabilitation of torture survivors throughout the world.