Innovating to support refugees’ mental health
For refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless communities, psychosocial help can be hard to reach. Weâre innovating to change that.
Around the world, there are growing reports of an emergent mental health crisis â a rise in the proportion of people, particularly young people, experiencing mental illness. For refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless people, the challenge is even more prevalent and support can be harder to access. A few fundamental truths drive the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in this space: There is no health without mental health, and access to mental health support is a human right. To ensure all people forced to flee can enjoy that right, innovation is more essential than ever.
Refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless communities have endured adversity and the fragmentation of social support structures. It is not surprising, then, that studies suggest up to one in three asylum seekers and refugees suffer from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These communities are often on the move, navigating new healthcare systems, and feeling socially isolated. Stigma can be a key barrier to seeking help. Humanitarian actors must work to keep pace with changing contexts, technologies, and information, to deliver care in ways that work best for those in need. Thatâs where our programming comes in.
Mental health is a cross-cutting issue, and weâre innovating to address it in all sorts of ways. Whether investigating nature-based solutions or testing creative uses of cutting-edge digital tools, the projects weâre supporting from Europe to Africa to the Middle East and beyond are developing new ways to deliver better mental health outcomes for and with refugees, furthering UNHCRâs protection mandate.
Harnessing the healing potential of nature
A growing body of research points to the benefits of green spaces for mental and physical wellbeing. Building on this evidence base, UNHCR Poland, with the support of the Environment and Climate Action Innovation Fund, is working with displaced communities in Krakow to increase access to green spaces and community nature activities â building opportunities for refugees of all ages and abilities to forge social connections, combat isolation, and spend more time in urban nature.
With nearly 1 million Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland since their homeland was engulfed by conflict, addressing mental health challenges has become a critical concern. Limited availability of specialized care, as well as social stigma, prevent many from accessing targeted support. Moreover, a lack of information, accessible spaces, and opportunities often prevents refugees from gathering together and building new connections, affecting their sense of belonging and ability to contribute to their new environment.
As a step toward addressing this challenge, this project has brought refugees â including older people and persons with disabilities â together with UNHCR and Internationaler Bund Polska to develop guidance to enhance the accessibility of Krakowâs social gardens and green spaces and make them welcoming for all. After an initial meeting of the group, which took place in a community garden, Ukrainian refugee Leonid reflected:
âI feel like a happy puppy. Before the session, I was depressed and sad, but this meeting made me happy and helped me relax.â
Improving access to gardens and green spaces, together, creates space for wider work on mental health and ensures refugees can become agents of their own flourishing. For some participants, this is their first opportunity to engage in a communal activity of this kind, helping to build community resilience and spread awareness of other services or opportunities. Equipped with a newly developed framework to measure its impact on participant wellbeing, this project will build evidence on how access to nature can support refugeesâ mental health.
In northern Syria, meanwhile, another environmental therapy initiative is being designed and delivered by people who have, themselves, been affected by displacement. Refugee-led organization Syria Bright Future, with support from the Refugee-led Innovation Fund, is engaging internally displaced people, returnees, and the host community in reforestation and awareness raising activities, in an effort to address psychological distress.
This community has grappled with displacement, conflict, a scarcity of employment opportunities, earthquakes, and environmental degradation. So far, the project has reached more than 1,000 people with online and in-person sessions that raise awareness about how environment and climate action intersects with mental health. Their reforestation excursions have involved 400 people, who have so far planted 500 seedlings. More traditional mental health support has been provided to 19 participants, with others experiencing the renewed sense of self-confidence and connection that come from making a meaningful contribution. Syria Bright Future notes:
âThe most significant change for the participants in this project has been the shift in their awareness of the importance of linking the environment and mental health. ⦠This newfound awareness developed into inspiration and passion for adopting sustainable environmental practices, leading to tangible changes in their daily behaviors and increased interest in community engagement.â
For example, Amjad, a man in his 20s, had previously considered environmental degradation to be less pressing than his daily problems, and not something he could address. After learning about the impacts of something as simple as tree planting on air quality and stress, he became more curious and more involved in community activities. Another participant, Aziz, had been struggling with unemployment and psychological distress. After helping with the reforestation of Birat Kaftin forest and the maintenance of green spaces in Maâarrat Misrin city, he was able to secure a job. His improved financial situation and sense of purpose has significantly boosted his mental health.
Expanding access with digital tools
Getting offline and outside can promote psychological wellbeing â but digital tools, too, can pave a way to enhanced access to mental health support. Weâve supported critical research to explore the risks and opportunities of emergent digital-supported MHPSS services for forcibly displaced adolescents, developing guidance for humanitarian actors wishing to design and deliver such services to this population. Weâre also supporting projects testing new and effective ways to leverage various digital technologies in support of mental health, in varied contexts.
Sudan Democracy Action Group, another recipient of UNHCRâs Refugee-led Innovation Fund, is providing internally displaced Sudanese, as well as those who have fled the violence in the country, with avenues for support and empowerment through the use of digital technologies. Since this project kicked off in June 2024, the organization has reached more than 550 forcibly displaced Sudanese people with online trainings on psychological first aid and other mental health topics. Posted to social media, these workshops have sparked wider conversations about mental health in the context of this displacement crisis. These sessions will be complemented by online one-on-one consultations on psychosocial support for young Sudanese inside and outside the country, and the development of online mental health support groups. In this way, traditional mental health support gains greater reach through digital avenues. Led by refugees and for refugees, with oversight from mental health professionals, this project is tailored to specific needs and sociocultural realities.
In Rwanda, meanwhile, UNHCR â with the support of the Digital Innovation Fund and in collaboration with mobile game platform Wanji Games â is developing an interactive audio adventure to deliver mental health information via mobile phones without the need for internet connectivity, as well as an interactive voice response (IVR) system to offer tailored mental health support to callers. These scalable outreach efforts, using novel approaches, are intended to reach refugees in a context where social stigma and local capacity can otherwise impose barriers to accessing mental health services.
Other innovative projects are further pushing the boundaries of digital mental health tools â exploring, for instance, the potential of digital arts and video games to forge cross-border connections, build skills, and develop generative collaborations, enhancing resilience and overall wellbeing through digital leisure, community, and self expression.
A focus on workforce wellbeing
Innovating to address mental health challenges experienced by refugees is urgent work â and itâs essential to UNHCRâs protection mandate. But itâs also critical to ensure the wellbeing of those people who are tasked to deliver that mandate. Supporting vulnerable communities in often remote environments comes with its own strains. UN personnel demonstrably face higher psychosocial challenges and hazards at work as compared to other sectors, which can negatively affect the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce and have knock-on effects on organizational productivity.
So, UNHCR â with the support of the Data Innovation Fund â is seeking to improve the identification and management of psychosocial risks, and ultimately enhance staff wellbeing and organizational effectiveness. In collaboration with experts from the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, UNHCRâs Psychosocial Wellbeing team is developing a digital application to systematically identify and assess psychosocial risks in the workplace as well as training material on its use. Dubravka Suzic, who heads this team, told a recent issue of UN Today:
âOur goal is to integrate psychosocial risks into organizational culture, putting them on the table alongside other risks.â
The application will use machine learning and predictive modeling to analyze already-available internal data as well as data from a staff survey to deliver real-time assessments and actionable insights via a centralized dashboard accessible to UNHCR operations and divisions. In addition to bringing together diverse datasets to provide a comprehensive evidence base â informing effective mitigation â the project is anticipated to reduce stigma and support constructive conversations about mental wellbeing, ultimately enabling a healthier work environment and more effective delivery of our mandate.
Transforming services and attitudes
Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are deeply connected to other aspects of life: social connection, environmental health, security, opportunity, and so much more. Humanitarian interventions to enhance other aspects of refugeesâ lived experience can have knock-on effects on mental health, but specific, tailored mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) is not a ânice to haveâ; itâs an essential service in its own right. And, as the world changes, how that support is best delivered changes, too.
Innovating in this space addresses barriers to effective care and opens new horizons for forcibly displaced and stateless people â as well as those committed to supporting their protection and inclusion. The forward-thinking approaches weâre exploring now could shape the future of service delivery in this space, and transform the lives of the many tens of millions of people forced to flee who are in need of psychosocial support.
Read more about how UNHCRâs MHPSS programming fits into our mandate. See a full list of the projects the Innovation Service is currently supporting here.