Global Mapping of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Resources Supporting Infectious Disease Outbreak Readiness and Response in Humanitarian Settings

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the importance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in responding to infectious disease outbreaks. In its rapid assessment of global COVID-19 impacts on MHPSS services, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “inclusion of MHPSS is an integral cross-cutting component in public health emergency responses.” To better understand the status of globally available MHPSS resources supporting readiness and response to major infectious disease outbreaks in humanitarian settings, READY identified a real-time need to comprehensively map available MHPSS resources to support humanitarian actors’ preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks. This report aims to confirm and collate existing relevant resources for MHPSS readiness and response to infectious disease outbreaks in humanitarian settings, identify resource gaps, and provide recommendations to address the gaps.