One in five people who have experienced war or other forms of conflict will suffer psychological disorders.

Three mobile mental health clinics will soon be operational in northern Syria to help thousands of internally displaced persons in the area as part of the Qatar Red Crescent Society‘s latest project.

Funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), the charity’s latest health project will help a  total of 9,600 people and host communities in the surrounding areas, including Al Bab, Salqin, and Darkush.

Almost 500 people with special needs will also benefit from the services provided by the mental health rapid response personnel.

By expanding access to adequate mental health and psychosocial support services, the project hopes to minimise mental morbidity and improve the psychological well-being of those affected by the pandemic.

Additionally, it aims to better integrate the mental health and psychosocial support services offered by the targeted primary care facilities and mobile clinics, as well as to build local staff and community health workers’ capacities and transfer knowledge in accordance with the relevant international standards.

The six-months long project will also provide the required facilities, drugs, and equipment to ensure adequate mental health services.

‘Worrying’ statistics

WHO estimates that one in every eleven (9%) residents of areas that have experienced war in the last ten years will suffer from a moderate or severe mental condition.

One in five (22%) individuals who have experienced war or other forms of conflict will suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.

Six interventions are suggested in the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) for the pandemic’s impact on mental health and psychosocial support.

They include the reduction of social stigma, social messages to raise awareness about mental health issues throughout the COVID-19 response, and special attention to elderly people, children, and patients with noncommunicable diseases.

Through three stationed and mobile mental health clinics, the initiative offers comprehensive, high-quality, and culturally appropriate mental health and psychosocial support services to the local community, including IDPs and host communities, where access to mental health care is very limited.