YANGON, Myanmar  – National Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Roundtable Discussion is organized in Yangon. The event is organized in hybrid; in-person and online with the objectives to share the findings of gaps and needs analysis with national MHPSS actors from Rakhine and Kachin state and review the progress made regarding the action points and recommendations from previous National MHPSS roundtable discussion in 2020.

At this hybrid event, UNFPA and MHPSS actors in Myanmar including MHPSS working group members and CSO partners, actively participated in the discussions to identify key priorities for MHPSS programming based on the current needs and challenges in Myanmar including Kachin and Rakhine and contributed recommendations addressing those gaps and challenges both in short and long terms. 

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) has become one of the key priorities of the overall humanitarian response in Myanmar. With COVID-19 pandemic and the current political crisis, demand for MHPSS has increased day by day. However, a limited availability of mental health professional in the country is the main challenge to respond to the growing needs. As people become familiar with MHPSS remote services, internet connection has become another challenge, especially for those staying in hard-to-reach locations. 

Based on today’s discussion, a brief document summarizing the current MHPSS-related situation, needs and recommended actions will be prepared.

Under the Women and Girls First Programme funded by European Union, Austraila, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland, UNFPA provides support to its partners in Myanmar to strengthen the integration of MHPSS in their programming and humanitarian interventions.