The Role of Mental and Psychosocial Well-Being and Support in Household Resilience in Somalia

In Somalia, 6.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. With a sixth consecutive below-average rainy season expected, the risk of famine remains possible. The Somalia Resilience Population Measurement (RPM) Activity is a five-year, USAID-funded project coordinated and co-implemented by Mercy Corps. Through a five-year panel survey and recurrent monitoring survey (RMS), the project seeks to improve upon current resilience measurement approaches in order to inform program adaptation and better decision-making. In this first round of the RMS, the research team focused on agro-pastoral households living in select geographic zones, as they are the most severely affected by the drought.

Linking Mental Health to Resilience

Early research suggests strong links between resilience and psychosocial factors, such as optimism, commitment to hard work (e.g., a sense of self-efficacy and future-oriented thinking), social connections and seeking comfort in religion and spirituality. Conversations with global and local aid actors, community leaders and program participants in Somalia helped inform vital, short-term strategies that account for psychosocial factors to address the immediate impacts of the drought, as well as long-term programming to strengthen household resilience:

1. Invest in and develop locally relevant mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions that are focused on reinforcing key sources of support within communities, such as local and religious leaders.
2. Design resilience activities to include components that bolster the psychosocial factors contributing to resilience, including informal support networks and social connections.

The protracted nature of the drought combined with several decades of compounding shocks have had significant implications for the psychosocial well-being of households. Some estimates suggest that as many as one in three Somalis are struggling with some form of mental illness, with only three psychiatrists serving a population of nearly 16 million.

This initial round of qualitative data collection of the RMS consisted of interviews and focus groups and informed the design of a quantitative field survey. The research was guided by an initial set of learning questions that examined the role of psychosocial support in household resilience in coping with the current drought:

1. What are some of the main psychosocial determinants of household resilience against shocks?
2. In what ways is the current crisis affecting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of shock-affected households?
3. What are some of the main barriers toward MHPSS services in Somalia? 
4. In what ways can MHPSS activities be incorporated into resilience and drought-response activities?

Consideration of Psychosocial Factors is Essential to Effective Resilience Programming

While the literature on psychosocial factors and resilience remains nascent, some research suggests that failure to account for psychosocial factors in resilience programming may end up blunting the impact for program participants and undermining investments.

While much of the research has focused largely on externally defined factors, it nonetheless provides a promising opportunity to develop more holistic activities that address both the objective and subjective factors that contribute to resilience. Participants highlighted a number of psychosocial capacities that helped them cope and develop a sense of purpose and engage in meaning making during difficult circumstances. This ultimately helped reinforce the role of community and social connections, as well as their internal locus of control. 

Another key finding is that community and religious leaders were a key source of emotional support for many. Their in-depth knowledge of their communities and capacity to mobilize resources and social support often meant that these leaders were decisive when it came to a household’s ability to cope.

Challenges to Mental Health Support

The quantitative survey revealed that the majority of households reported multiple mental health challenges, such as sadness, feeling overwhelmed/constantly worrying and the inability to cope with stressful events. There is broad agreement that these problems have worsened personally and communally and that they are exacerbated by drought conditions. 

The survey found moderate awareness of sources of support for mental health distress, and that most respondents favorably viewed the potential of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in mental health programming. Nevertheless, there are high levels of personal hesitation around receiving help due to fear of judgment and material consequences (i.e., negative impacts on livelihoods). These challenges should be taken into account when considering MHPSS programming.

Future rounds of data collection will more closely examine the specific psychosocial factors that religion and spirituality cultivate within households and communities for possible linkages to resilience. This may shift our understanding of the links between psychosocial well-being and resilience, encouraging practitioners to apply a more relational, rather than individual, lens when designing and implementing programming. As these initial rounds of data collection and analysis and other research has demonstrated, individual and household resilience is inextricably linked with the resilience of the broader community and informal support networks.

Visit Mercy Corps to learn more about the Somalia RPM Activity and explore additional resources.