South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. Fourteen years later, it is clear that ex-combatants remain a vulnerable group. A limited disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process has meant that many ex-combatants continue to face serious challenges. A number of nongovernmental organizations have taken up the task of addressing the psychosocial needs of this group. This paper describes their interventions and the impact on ex-combatants, as well as the challenges still facing this group.

This paper reflects on some of the moral dilemmas inherent in the provision of counselling for Iraqi refugees by highlighting the day-to-day experiences of psychosocial counsellors employed by an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) in Jordan. It is argued that the lack of clarity in role, short term recruitment policies, confused demands on INGOs and the complexity of the political situation of Iraqis in Jordan contribute to profound, and often insoluble, moral dilemmas for local staff charged with providing front line counselling services.

Thirty-six Iraqi refugees designed and conducted a community survey among their fellow refugees in Amman/Jordan in July 2007, as part of the 2007/

This article focuses on the resilience of children facing extreme hardship and adversity. It is based on participatory research with children living in child headed households in Rwanda. It emphasizes the importance of listening to children’s voices and recognizing their capacities when designing interventions to strengthen their psychosocial wellbeing. This studyshows that children have developed innovative and profitable coping strategies and some have even developed the capacity to thrive through their situation of extreme hardship.

This article describes a participative ranking methodology for identifying local understanding

of reintegration and adjustment of potential value

One year after the official launch of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, initiatives linked to their implementation have been undertaken in over 20 countries ranging from Iran and Nepal to Kenya and Peru. In this article we present an overview of the activities that are currently underway to implement the guidelines. This article provides an overview of different strategies that have been used and presents some of the strengths and challenges of these implementation strategies.

The humanitarian organization Médecins sans Frontieres (MSF) supports the content of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. The guidelines promote a systemic, comprehensive approach to psychosocial and mental health problems, and bring unity to a field that was much needed. However, these guidelines operate within the context of major reforms of the humanitarian aid sector. The potential implications of these reforms on independent humanitarian action are discussed.

A major challenge for the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings is to make them accessible to community groups. People at the local level often have difficulty in reading and comprehending the guidelines. This article describes how pictorial aids, such as visual stimulus cards and ‘low verbal-high visual’ instruction materials, were used to assist communities groups to work with the guidelines. We describe how these materials have been developed in several post disaster settings in Latin America and South East Asia.

The initiatives for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are presented, using the case of a cyclone in Bangladesh. The IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings have proved useful, but need to be made operational through joint efforts by different actors, through dissemination to grass root rural levels, and through planning in the non emergency phase.

Keywords:    Inter-Agency Standing

This paper provides a brief overview of selected aspects of the World Banks support in the area of mental and psychosocial health, with a focus on conflict affected countries, and reference to selected points in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee¹ Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2007).