Empowering Armenian Refugees and Host Populations through WHO’s MHPSS Mobile Team and Hotline Services: Addressing Acute Mental Health Needs

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services as a critical need for Armenian refugees and host populations. To address this need, WHO has established a mobile team that travels weekly to affected communities to provide immediate MHPSS support. Over the past six months, the mobile team has provided consultations to over 973 individuals, with 16% being children and 35% being older people. In addition to the mobile team, WHO is working on building the capacity of the MHPSS hotline, where operators are available to provide support, referrals, and assistance to callers experiencing anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Over the past six months, 10 operators have received specialized training and have responded to a total of 4546 calls.

Vahan Simonyan, a psychiatrist on the mobile team, emphasizes the ongoing acute mental health needs in the population. He notes that after six months of providing MHPSS services, they are diagnosing more long-term and chronic conditions like depression in refugees with existing mental health histories who are showing severe signs of distress. WHO’s response has also focused on providing MHPSS services for burn patients, their families, and medical staff. Over 1262 individual sessions have been provided to 149 individuals, including 96 burn patients, 32 family members, and 21 medical staff. WHO has also conducted trainings and capacity-building sessions on basic psychosocial skills, self-care, and stress management for over 360 nurses.

As of March 2024