Gaza Community Mental Health Programme-Strategic Plan support 2022-2024

In the midst of the war in Gaza, Gaza Community Mental Health Program plays an important role, providing psychological first aid services and specialized mental health services. It coordinates different actors in the sector and provides professional support and training. GCMHP has qualified staff such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses and rehabilitation specialists. They provide unaccompanied children with specialized mental health services. Services are also given to people who have traumatic experiences from being detained. The results for 2023 have been different to what was stated in the Action Plan for 2023, due to the war. When the war broke out the organisation shifted to a crisis operation but it took some time before GCMH could find ways of working in a totally new situation. Just to continue to operate in these extreme circumstances is a major achievement. The main interventions since the war started have been: providing therapy to patients, providing psychological first aid, maintaining telephone counselling service, providing care for caregivers and community awareness and advocacy. Due to the war, community activities (under SG1 and SG3) was suspended since they were planned to take place in kindergartens, schools, sports clubs and community institution that were damaged during the war. Communication activities like radio and television programs, training and pubclications (SG3) were also suspended

GCMHP has set the following three strategic objectives to achieve its mission throughout the period 2022-2024: (1) contribute to improving the mental health situation of the population in the Gaza Strip; (2) contribute to developing the mental health and psychosocial sector in the Gaza Strip; and (3) contribute to anchoring human rights-based principles and practices, reducing violence and promoting community resilience.