The economic crisis has put immense pressure on various aspects of the country and the healthcare system is no exception. Health workers are at the forefront of the response, working long hours under difficult circumstances, which can take a toll on their mental health and wellbeing. Providing psychosocial support to health workers is essential to maintain their mental wellbeing, resilience, and adaptability to care during emergencies. Therefore, this aims to provide psychosocial support to 500 health workers in Sri Lanka which in turn can contribute to the sustainability of the healthcare system in Sri Lanka and ensures that women, young people and people with disabilities have uninterrupted access to quality life-saving SRH services including maternal health, family planning and mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS).
The primary objective of this is to equip healthcare workers with skills to improve their mental wellbeing, enabling them to cope better with the challenges of providing healthcare during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.
An empowering Mental Health and Psychosocial Support session for health care workers in Nuwara Eliya was conducted by UNFPA SriLanka.