Cairo, 23 March 2022 - The International Organization for Migration Egypt and Médecins du Monde Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Project Implementation Agreement to start a long-term collaboration with focus on migration health where they work on ensuring migrants access to quality health services and building the capacity of the national health system, with focus on mental health and psychosocial support.

As a start IOM Egypt and Médecins du Monde Mental Health Teams organized group activities about “MHPSS considerations for women” targeting more than 70 women from different migrant communities in Cairo. The main objective of the sessions was to create a safe space and facilitate discussions about covid-19 and its impact on their psychological well-being, as well as to raise awareness on identifying mental health issues and vulnerabilities, including Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and establishing referral pathways in case of needed support.

As a second step, both parties organized five awareness sessions about "Precautions during Covid-19 Pandemic" and "Basics of Mental Health and psychological disorders”. The awareness sessions were conducted for around 250 migrants from different communities, including Sudanese, South Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali, Yemeni, Syrian communities in Cairo.

These sessions addressed covid-19 and the most common symptoms of psychological disorders such as Depressive Disorders with special emphasis on common symptoms in vulnerable populations, such as post-partum depression and post-traumatic depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders and their impact on psychological well-being, as well as to raise awareness on common interventions in mental health treatment and sharing referral pathways in case of needed support.

Finally, four Capacity Building trainings were conducted for Primary Health Care workers and Community leaders from different migrant communities in Egypt: including Sudanese, South Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali, Yemeni, Syrian communities in Cairo.

The trainings included sessions on identifying the common symptoms of psychological disorders such as Depression with special emphasis on common symptoms in vulnerable populations, such as postpartum depression and post-traumatic depression, anxiety disorders, and discussed Mental Health in Seniors and Children, Mental Health Gap (MHGAP), Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Psychological First Aid, Basic Counseling Skills, and referral to specialized support.

The training sessions were attended by around 110 participants from more than 10 primary health care units as well as Community-based Organizations (CBOs).

These activities were implemented through the generous support offered by the Japanese Government under the project “Empowering Women, Migrants and Host Communities in Egypt to cope with the impact of COVID-19 through Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services”.

The activities are in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 3“Good Health and Well-Being” and Goal 10 “Reduced Inequalities. The workshop also aligns to the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) Objective 7 “Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration”.

For further information, please contact Omar Awwad at IOM Egypt, Tel: +20 101 2428 527 Email: osawwad@iom.int