TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has organized a workshop for the IRCS’ psychosocial support team to enhance their capacity on ‘Ensuring Quality in Psychosocial and Mental Health Care and Support’ (EQUIP) during emergencies.

The workshop was held from August 18 to 20 in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province; a total of thirty-five national master trainers of the  IRCS’ psychosocial support team, SAHAR, participated in the workshop, UNICEF website announced in a press release on August 28.

The IRCS’ SAHAR teams consist of volunteers trained to provide Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) following disasters.

EQUIP assists SAHAR’s master trainers with planning and conducting training and supervision for the volunteers of the SAHAR teams.

The enhanced skills and capacities will result in more children, adolescents, and their families receiving effective and safe mental health services during emergencies.

The next step involves supporting the IRCS in the field implementation of EQUIP. Towards this, UNICEF will organize advanced-level training for SAHAR’s master trainers, involving EQIP facilitators from UNICEF’s Headquarters.

UNICEF will also explore expanding this framework to other MHPSS service providers, such as the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the State Welfare Organization, NGOs, and other relevant community workers.

This activity is part of a series of UNICEF-supported capacity-building initiatives with IRCS’ SAHAR teams to provide quality MHPSS to children, adolescents, and their families during emergencies.

Recent cooperation

Under a newly launched initiative, titled Green DADRAS, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Climate Change Secretariat aimed to promote students’ climate literacy.

A total of  11,536 high school students, girls and boys aged 12 to 15 years, from across Iran will benefit from the educational program, the UNICEF website announced in a press release on August 22.

By raising awareness and promoting proactive measures, the IRCS and UNICEF aimed to create a positive environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future for all.

The newly launched Green DADRAS Initiative, guided by the Climate Change Secretariat of the IRCS,  equipped 46 master trainers from the Youth Organization of the IRCS to lead educational sessions on climate change for these school students.

These dedicated trainers will train 824 provincial trainers across the country to finally empower over 11,000 high school students within DADRAS teams, focusing on critical topics such as drought and floods.

The initiative will enable these students to design and implement impactful climate change-related campaigns within their schools and communities. 

Having received education on the importance of climate change, these young minds will then be equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to protect their environment. 

Considering the significant impact of climate change in Iran, this initiative is considered a crucial step towards securing a better future for the next generation. 

In November 2023, the IRCS in cooperation with UNICEF  organized eight educational workshops for students and their family members residing in the city of Khoy which was struck by a strong earthquake in January.

On January 28, 2023, an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit Khoy in the northwestern West Azarbaijan province. The disaster affected at least 261,000 people and displaced 130,000 from their homes.

A total of 1,700 male and female students and 120 of their family members attended these workshops.

These educational workshops were held with the aim of empowering children and their families in team building, team support, anger management, emotion regulation, empathy, happiness, self-care, and environmental care.

Facilitators of these workshops had earlier participated in a capacity-building training program organized jointly by UNICEF and the IRCS, funded by the EU’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the UNICEF website announced in a press release on November 12.

During these training programs, facilitators, and members of the IRCS teams, improved their technical skills in emergency preparedness, including providing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to children, adolescents, and families during crises, including natural hazards.

In the aftermath of the January 2023 earthquake in Khoy, UNICEF offered vital relief aid to the affected population. This included psychosocial support, distribution of hygiene packs, financial assistance to vulnerable populations for rebuilding damaged homes, and provision of prefabricated health clinics and classrooms, the report added.

MT/MG