By Salima Biglary | Programs and Partnerships Coordinator
For the last two months and a half, International Blue Crescent (IBC) has been delivering an MHPSS project to support the resilience and mental health of the Gaza people who have been subject to an ongoing and destructive war for more than 10 months. The project has delivered so far 121 Psychological First Aid and Awareness Meetings to 1670 people; Peer Support Group meetings to 117 people; Psychological Interventions to 100 people who showed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms or other mental symptoms; and six meetings using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) exposure techniques to 41 cases.
The intervention has been carried out in Al Nuseirat Camp, Dair Al Balah Camp, and Al Mawasi–Khan Yonis.
During implementation, we have been faced with the following challenges:
- Huge numbers of people in need of MHPSS interventions: Even before the increase in hostilities, at least half a million children in Gaza needed mental health and psychosocial support. Now, every child, parent, and caregiver in Gaza has experienced profoundly distressing events and trauma, characterized by extensive destruction and displacement.
- Raise of Domestic Violence: With the war reaching its tenth month, humanitarian practitioners have observed a huge need for psychological support and psychotropic medication. Most people face traumatic events and still do every single minute. Their mental status affects their emotions and behaviors toward their families and with people around them which raises domestic violence.
- Frontliners are exhausted: Frontliners who are under constant stress and burnout suffer from anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, emotional avoidance, and nightmares, all of which increase the risk of mental health issues, so they need intensive care to protect themselves and to motivate them to continue helping others.
- Price Hikes: The uncontrolled changing of prices in local markets makes it hard to estimate the prices for needed equipment and supplies.
IBC has been active in responding to the needs of the Gaza people since the beginning of the war and in this context, we managed to get aid cargo to Gaza regularly in the previous months, but with the escalation of the war in the Southern Governorate of Rafah three months back and the closure of the borders thereof, our operations towards Gaza have been halted.
We are now prepositioning in Cairo 1800 food parcels, 1800 hygiene packages, and big quantities of canned meat ready to be dispatched should the borders be re-opened again. The value of these relief items totals $585,000.
We join our efforts with other NGOs appealing for an immediate and lasting ceasefire that would enable the resumption and normal flow of aid to Gaza to save lives.
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