Go to content

MHPSS conference: acknowledgements

The organisers of the International Conference on MHPSS in Crisis Situations are grateful to all co-chairs and working group members for the preparation of background papers and recommendations on MHPSS; for their time and work, their invaluable contributions, and their continuous commitment to MHPSS. We would like to express our special thanks to Mark van Ommeren (WHO) for his technical guidance and support during the preparation of these papers.

We are thankful to the Open Society Foundation and CBM for their contribution to travel and accommodation costs for some conference participants.

Co-chairs and working group members

Scaling-Up of MHPSS during and after Emergencies: Lessons Learned across the World

  • Fahmy Hanna (WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse)
  • Sarah Harrison (IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, Denmark)
  • Members of the IASC Reference Group on MHPSS

Mobilising and Supporting Displaced and Host Populations within Communities

  • Ananda Galappatti (MHPSS.net, The Good Practice Group, GIZ Sri Lanka; medical anthropologist)
  • Asma Humayun (psychiatrist, independent mental healthcare provider)
  • Professor Derrick Silove (School of Psychiatry University of New South Wales, Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS))
  • Elizabeth De Castro (University of the Philippines, Psychosocial Support and Children’s Rights Resource Center; psychologist)
  • Peter Ventevogel (UNHCR; medical anthropologist/psychiatrist)
  • Fuat Elmusa (Syria Relief and Development; psychiatrist)
  • Mike Wessells (Columbia University New York; psychologist)
  • Claire Whitney (IMC; clinical social worker)
  • Mohamed Ali Elshazly (UNHCR; psychiatrist)
  • Olga Rebolledo (IOM; psychologist)
  • Patrick Onyango (Director Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, Uganda)

A Just and Inclusive Society: Supporting Societal Shifts, Addressing Stigma and Discrimination

  • Ben Adams (CBM)
  • Chris Dolan (Director Refugee Law Project) 
  • Christine Ogaranko (Open Society Foundation; social worker)
  • Hippolyte Manirakiza (Fracarita)
  • Julian Eaton (Mental Health Director CBM)
  • Marian Tankink (MHPSS and Peacebuilding; medical anthropologist, psychiatric nurse)
  • Michael Njenga (Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, Kenya)
  • Prakash Goossens (Fracarita)
  • Sarah Rizk (Humanity and Inclusion, Psychology)

A Just and Inclusive Society: Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

  • Benoît Ruratotoye (Living Peace Institute, researcher)
  • Carla Uriarte (ICRC, MHPSS specialist)
  • Gidha Anani (ABAAD, Resource Center for Gender Equality)
  • Guglielmo Schinina (Head of Mental Health, Psychosocial Response and Intercultural Communication Section, IOM)
  • Henny Slegh (Living Peace Institute, researcher)
  • Milena Osorio (ICRC, mental health and psychosocial coordinator)
  • Nora Sveaass (UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture; psychologist, researcher)
  • Paloma Vega Diez-Rollan (ICRC; psychologist, MHPSS project officer)

Children, Adolescents and Their Families

  • Professor Alastair Ager (Director, National Institute of Health Research, Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility, Director, Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Department of Population & Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University)
  • Ann Willhoite (USAID)
  • Astrid Haaland (Gender Based Violence Area of Responsibility)
  • Dean Brooks (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, INEE)
  • Chiara Servilli (WHO)
  • Hani Mansourian (Coordinator of the Child Protection Alliance, UNICEF)
  • Leslie Snider (The MHPSS Collaborative, Save the Children Denmark)
  • Lindsay Stark (Associate Professor, Washington University's Brown School)
  • Lynette Mudekunye (Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPPSI))
  • Mark Jordans (Director Research and Development, War Child Holland & Professor of Child and Adolescent Global Mental Health, University of Amsterdam)
  • May Aoyoun (War Child Lebanon)
  • Patrick Onyango (Director Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, Uganda)
  • Trudy Mooren (ARQ Nationaal Psychotrauma Centrum, Netherlands)
  • Zeinab Hijazi (UNICEF Global MHPSS Specialist, Child Protection in Emergencies, New York Headquarters)

Research and Innovation: Adapting to the Future of Mental Health

  • Professor Alastair Ager FRSE (Director, National Institute of Health Research, Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility, Director, Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Professor, Department of Population & Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University)
  • Professor Derrick Silove (School of Psychiatry University of New South Wales, Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS))
  • Professor Eugene Kinyanda (senior investigator scientist; Mental Health Section, Medical Research Council, Uganda Virus Research Institute, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Uganda Research Unit)
  • Jeannie Annan (Research and Innovation, Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, The International Rescue Committee; Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago)
  • Jura Augustinavicius (Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)
  • Nagendra Luitel (Transcultural Psychosocial Organization)
  • Siham Sikander (Health Services Academy, Federal Ministry of Health, Public Mental Health Researcher and Epidemiologist)
  • Theresa Betancourt (Salem Professor in Global Practice at the Boston College School of Social Work and director of the Research Program on Children and Adversity (PCA); Research Associate, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School)
  • Wietse Tol (Associate Professor Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Peter C. Alderman Program for Global Mental Health, HealthRight International)

Workforce Development

  • Alison Schafer (WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, technical officer)
  • Ananda Gallapati (MHPSS.net, The Good Practice Group, GIZ Sri Lanka)
  • Benedict Dossen (The Carter Center Mental Health Program, Liberia) 
  • Andrea Pink (ICRC)
  • Anna Goloktionova (Medicos del Mundo, Ukraine)
  • Brandon Kohrt (Division of Global Mental Health, Director, George Washington University)
  • Carmel Gailliard (Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), South Africa)
  • Père Eddy Eustache (Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health Haiti)
  • Inka Weissbecker (WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Use)
  • Janice Cooper (The Carter Center Mental Health Program, Liberia)
  • Josephine Akellot (HealthRight International)
  • May Aoun (War Child Holland) 
  • Phiona Koyiet (World Vision International)
  • Michail Lavdas (Association for Regional Development and Mental Health (EPAPSY))
  • Ruth O'Connell (Save the Children Denmark)
  • Sarah Harrison (IFRC)
  • Swaray Seidu (Liberia Association of Psychosocial Counsellors)

Protection and Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing of Staff and Volunteers in the Face of Trauma, Hostile Environments and Chronic Stress

  • Barbara Lopes Cardozo (Emergency Rand Recovery Branch, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta)
  • Kinan Aldamann (Syrian Red Crescent Society, currently PhD staff support, University of Copenhagen)
  • Manuel De Lara (WHO Gaziantep, staff support lead for NGOs working in Turkey and Syria and focal person for MHPSS, Philippines)
  • Melanie Powell (IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, Denmark)
  • Nana Wiedemann (IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, Denmark)
  • Tineke van Pietersom (Antares Foundation)
  • Winnifred Simon (Antares Foundation)
  • Zaki Omari (Afghan Red Crescent Society)

Investment in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support: How to Increase Funding for Immediate and Longer-Term Needs?

  • Caro Krijger (Direction of Stabilisation and Humanitarian Aid, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  • Claire Whitney (International Medical Corps; psychologist)
  • Dan Chisholm (Programme Manager, Mental Health, WHO Regional Office for Europe)
  • Faraaz Mohamed (Open Society Foundation)
  • Gaia Montauti d’Harcourt (Fondation d’Harcourt)
  • Michael Copland (Child Protection, UNICEF)
  • Rabih El Chammay (psychiatrist; Head of Programme, National Mental Health Programme, Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon)
  • Sarah Kline (United for Global Mental Health)

Delivering MHPSS in Public Health Emergencies: Specific Needs & Requirements

  • Janice Cooper (Head Mental Health, Carter Center Liberia)
  • John Mahoney (War Child Netherlands)
  • Marcio Gagliato (MHPSS.net; key actor during Zika Virus Outbreak in Brazil)
  • Sarah Kline (United for Global Mental Health)