Follow the Money: Global funding of child and family MHPSS activities in development and humanitarian assistance

The years 2018 and 2019 saw unprecedented interest in MHPSS from key actors within the international community. A sequence of international high-level events took place in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic furthered the momentum and attention to the mental health and wellbeing needs of children, young people, and families.

However, the question remains whether this increase in focus has been matched by financial commitments and actual spending. There is a lack of clarity regarding humanitarian and development financing for child and family MHPSS as donors do not report how much they allocate to this area of work. MHPSS activities are often integrated within funding allocated for broader education, health, or protection activities, with the unique costs of MHPSS programme components remaining unspecified.

The aim of this study is to get a picture of the international aid provided to activities that support the mental health and wellbeing of children, youth, and families in crisis. It is a follow-up study on a previous report published in 2019.