MHPS response of CMC-Nepal during lock-down period resulted due to COVID-19 pandemic period (7th May till 31st May 2020)

The impact of pandemic of COVID 19 in continuing  and the number of cases has been increasing day-by day.And not limited to physical health, several issues related to mental health has also risen. From the beginning of the Lockdown, CMC-Nepal has been responding to the mental health and psychosocial issues to support those in need, in whichever way possible during this crisis. Following are the activities that we have been conducting from our side in response to the situation created by COVID-19.

• Tele-Counselling guideline & Individual tele-counselling services: Our Technical team (Psychiatrist, Psychologists & PS Counsellors) has been actively responding to our clients using the tele-counselling guidelines. They have been providing helpful ways of coping stresses caused by COVID-19 to our clients, and have been providing necessary information based on facts, in addition to providing counseling and mental health treatment. Field level staffs, in our working districts, are regularly providing the services to the needy clients. Also, in the COVID-19 infected areas, our staffs have been supporting COVID infected patients and also the people who are staying in quarantine.
• Group Counseling: CMC-Nepal’s Psychosocial experts has been continuing to provide distance training to psychosocial supervisors, psychosocial counselors, and case managers of Safer Migration and GBV prevention and response project. And the attendees of the training are further training and orienting the front-line workers; social workers and CPSWs, who then  are providing group counseling services to returnee migrant workers and their families, and GBV survivors respectively who were dealing with stresses caused due to COVID-19.
• Regular contact with education cluster, protection cluster, MH cluster, GBV cluster formed by GoN: Focal Persons of CMC-Nepal for respective clusters have maintained regular virtual contact with other cluster members, in all of the clusters meetings. Service mapping is updated by provincial level and shared accordingly.
• Awareness program: Technical experts of CMC-Nepal have been continuing in participating in talk-shows and interviews conducted by televisions & FM radio stations to provide appropriate information on maintaining mental health and psychosocial wellbeing during COVID-19 situation amidst the prevailing lock-down. Experts have also been sharing different coping mechanisms to ease the stresses during this difficult situation based on their knowledge and skills via FM radio stations. Moreover, to that, in joint collaboration of CMC-Nepal with Community Information Network (CIN) & Ujjyalo Network, CMC-Nepal is airing PSA on COVID-19 and mental health through their radio networks which is reachable to 500+ FM radios throughout Nepal.   
• Service delivery: As of this reporting period, CMC-Nepal has provided mental health and psychosocial counselling service through distance (tele-counseling) to needy individuals. Field level psychosocial counsellor also provided counselling service to their beneficiaries.

• Supply of Psychotropic Medicine: CMC-Nepal has always been committed to supply medicines in health facilities where it has implemented its community based MHP, in coordination with local health facilities. It supplied psychotropic medicine in its 9 working districts, from which 3210 people with mental health problems benefited.

• Linkages with the local government for relief package: CMC-Nepal’s field level staffs have been continuing in coordinating with local governments to assure the access of needy individuals to the relief packages distributed by the government. CMC-Nepal provided linkage to 29 households in accessing relief package distributed by the local government. Further, CMC-Nepal supported 5 (rural) municipalities of Surkhet and Dailekh for the safety equipment and relief packages. 
• Regular Skype meeting: Owing to the government’s decision to employ nation-wide lockdown to contain COVID-19, CMC-Nepal’s office is completely closed since its announcement. But, all of our staffs are continuing in working from home & providing regular support and services from home.  In order to connect with our central office staffs, we are conducting regular meetings in Skype every week. This has turned out to be an opportunity to share work related experiences, difficulties and concerns while performing our duties from home. In the beginning of every meeting, we share our emotional situation raised due to COVID-19. Last week, My well-being session was organized dividing in 2 groups for staff members which has helped the staff members to ventilate the difficulties and feeling they have been undergoing within these lockdown. Similarly, series of meetings are also continuing every week (via Skype) among project team members to respond COVID-19 pandemic situation, and ease the delivery of our services. In addition to this, online guidance has been regularly provided to the field level staffs to deal/address the mental health and psychosocial problems faced by affected individuals in current situation. Also, virtual coaching is conducted on regular basis/need basis to all the field staffs to further strengthen their capacity in dealing cases related to COVID-19 in field level.