In Iraq, WHO identified groups in need of psychological care, with a special focus on women, and addressed their needs through online training sessions on psychological first aid and how to address stigma and discrimination.
In April this year, it provided remote psychological first aid training to more than 100 participants from several organizations working in the field of mental health and psychosocial support. The training introduced the principles of providing psychological care using phones or social media outlets.
Participants were coached to deal with stigma and shame suffered by people who have contracted COVID-19. They shared observations of negative behaviours and attitudes seen as directly contributing to negative health outcomes and difficulties in accessing information on the disease in pandemic-affected locations, specific to local cultural, traditional and social contexts.
Participants were also made aware of the important role they play in convincing the populations they serve to report suspected COVID-19 cases and encouraging them to maintain a proper and healthy lifestyle, including adopting appropriate breathing, talking, eating and body hygiene protocols.
Read more about WHO’s response to COVID-19