Disasters, conflicts and health problems have severe psychosocial consequences. The emotional wounds may be less visible than the destruction of homes, but it often takes far longer to recover from emotional impact than to overcome material losses.

Sindh faces increasing challenges every day and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Sindh Branch provides humanitarian assistance not only with traditional relief aid such as shelter, food distribution and basic health care, but also with psychosocial support.

Psychosocial support helps individuals and communities to heal the psychological wounds and rebuild social structures after an emergency or a critical event. It can help change people into “active survivors rather than passive victims.”

Health services mainly include medical checkup, provision of medicines, health awareness and education regarding prevention from communicable diseases, psychosocial support program in emergency and community based health and first aid.

Psychosocial Support is an approach to victims of disaster, catastrophe or violence to foster resilience of communities and individuals. It aims at easing resumption of normal life; facilitate affected people participation to their convalescence and preventing pathological consequences of potentially traumatic situations. The term psychosocial refers to one’s psychological development in and interaction with a social environment.

While the immediate physical needs of disaster survivors are being met, psychosocial interventions are required to address the emotional and psychological impact of the associated trauma and grief on the survivors at the same time. The interventions aimed at affected communities, relief organizations, disaster workers, as well as individual survivors.

In this regard, Health Department- PSP program Sindh has initiated to provide CISM(Critical Incident Stress Management) , PFA (Psychological First Aid), Supporting staff and Volunteers, and dealing with children’s stress in Emergency Flood Operation by induction of PSP staff in every Mobile Health Unit comprising of at least 6 PSP volunteers under each PSP staff in each district.

PRCS, Sindh branch has designed PSP activities, which includes:

• Play activities including singing, handicrafts designing etc
• Psychological first aid session with adult & children
• Stress management exercises and sessions with adult & children
• Technique of coping through certain activities
• Informal education

For further information, contact with:

Ms. Salma Bano
PSP Coordinator
Cell: 0321-8904127
Email: psp@prcsindh.org.pk