14 April 2020- Members of the Latin American Regional mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) Response Team presented a minimum package of recommended MHPSS interventions for COVID-19 to mental health focal points from PAHO and Ministries of Health of Latin American Member States. The presentation was part of a series of webinars on MHPSS and COVID-19 hosted by Drs. Carmen Martinez and Andrea Bruni, mental health advisors for Central America and South America, respectively, of the Mental Health and Substance Use Unit.
The presentation aimed to present key considerations and provide countries with essential MHPSS interventions to put into practice. The recommendations were in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007) and organized according to the four levels of the intervention pyramid for MHPSS in emergencies: psychosocial considerations for basic services and security; community and family supports; focused, non-specialized supports; and specialized services.
The IASC Intervention pyramid for MHPSS in emergencies promotes the need for a layered system of complementary supports that meets the needs of different groups during emergencies. It is recommended that all layers of the pyramid are implemented concurrently.
A recording of the webinar can be found at (available only in Spanish)