Building better mental health response in emergencies

Rolling out the Multisectoral Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Service Package (MHPSS MSP) in humanitarian settings

7 May 2025, Beirut, Lebanon – In the aftermath of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon that resulted in 4163 deaths and 17 105 injuries, and following the ceasefire agreement that took effect on 27 November 2024, the situation in Lebanon remains highly volatile. The post-ceasefire period offered a unique opportunity to strengthen multisectoral coordination, future preparedness and recovery efforts. In this context, the National MHPSS Coordination Group (CG) – led by the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and co-chaired by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) – conducted a series of 4 two-day workshops, funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), on “Strengthening MHPSS in Humanitarian Programming: Using the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Minimum Service Package (MSP)”.

The workshops aimed to equip MHPSS humanitarian actors from different sectors, sector leads, ministry representatives and sub-national MHPSS CG coordinators, with the tools, knowledge and shared framework needed to deliver effective, well-coordinated MHPSS interventions.

What is the MSP?

The MSP was jointly developed by WHO, UNICEF and the Unite Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in collaboration with global MHPSS actors, to support the coordination, planning and delivery of mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian emergencies. The MSP is aligned with Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings and targets programme planners, coordinators, donors, implementing partners and technical advisors.

Why the workshop mattered?

As the crisis escalated in 2024, many humanitarian actors rushed to respond. With more than 100 organizations from different sectors and ministries involved in MHPSS activities, coordination challenges quickly emerged. Recognizing this, WHO and the NMHP worked closely to strengthen multisectoral coordination, ensuring that mental health and psychosocial support were not sidelined in the emergency response.

The MSP workshop aimed to build a shared understanding of MHPSS best practices in times of emergencies, improve cross-sector collaboration and equip responders with the tools they need to ensure MHPSS is not just an afterthought but a core part of humanitarian preparedness and response plans.

Who participated?

The workshops brought together over 109 participants from across sectors – health, education, protection, nutrition, livelihood and more. Attendees included MHPSS professionals and service providers, sector leads, sub-national MHPSS CG coordinators, university students, representatives of service users and representatives from the Ministries of Public Health, Education and Social Affairs. Care was taken to ensure that each workshop included a diverse mix of sectors and representatives, enriching the conversations, fostering networking and collaboration across different areas of expertise and reaffirming the cross-cutting nature of MHPSS.

A hands-on learning experience

The workshop provided participants with:

a practical introduction to the MHPSS MSP, a user-friendly framework outlining the highest priority MHPSS activities in emergencies;

enhanced capacity for coordination, with tools and strategies to harmonize cross-sector efforts, ensuring that MHPSS is integrated into broader humanitarian planning;

hands-on experience, with interactive sessions including group exercises, role plays, case studies and dynamic presentations that reinforced practical applications of the MSP in the field; and

actionable guidance, detailed insights on implementing the MSP and group discussions on lessons learned during the acute phase of the war.

What did people say?

Feedback was positive. Describing the workshop, participants said:

“Time flies during the workshop due to interactive activities, interesting discussions and experience sharing between attendees from different sectors and organizations.”

“Overall, the workshop was excellent. The engagement of participants from different sectors made the discussions very rich. The practical navigation of the MSP platform was very important.”

“This workshop was much needed and will serve as an essential guide to our support.”

What was achieved?

A significant increase in participants’ knowledge and confidence to use the MSP.

High satisfaction with training content, especially the practical application sessions.

Growing momentum for cross-sector collaboration. New partnerships began forming during and after the workshops, including discussions around integrating MHPSS activities into new project proposals and strengthening coordination between actors, ministries and sector leads.

Ongoing efforts have been made to align MHPSS activity reporting on the national 4Ws platform – currently being revised by the NMHP and its partners – with the updated service mapping tool featured in the MHPSS Assessment Toolkit.

What’s next?

Looking ahead, WHO and NMHP are planning to contextualize the MSP to country context and conduct a consultation and follow up training on monitoring and evaluation. Sector leads also requested more in-depth discussions on the planning and implementation of MSP interventions tailored to their sectors. Future emergency response plans will also be more closely aligned with MSP activities, ensuring that MHPSS is systematically integrated into preparedness and response efforts as a multisectoral area of work.

The workshop also laid the groundwork for more effective coordination across sectors. With a shared foundational understanding of MHPSS, stakeholders are now better positioned to align their priorities and approaches.

Lebanon convenes National Health Sector Coordination Workshop to reinforce governance

28 April 2025 – In a step towards enhancing Lebanon’s health sector governance, the Ministry of Public Health convened a national–subnational health sector coordination workshop led by H.E. the Minister of Public Health Dr Rakan Nassereldine.

The workshop marked a pivotal moment in the country’s journey towards establishing a fit-for-purpose coordination architecture that promotes unified leadership from the national level down to the field. Spearheaded by the national health sector coordination team, the event which took place last week, aimed to address the longstanding disconnect between humanitarian health responses and the government-led architecture on the ground.