Launching of the showcase in the VHL Colombia portal "Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for the population coming from Venezuela in mixed migratory flows".
Given the increase in the migratory flow of the Venezuelan population to Colombia, which has totaled approximately 1.5 million people entering the country in recent years, it is necessary to reflect on the effects that the migratory process has on the mental and psychosocial health of individuals and their families.
In situations of critical events or changes associated with migration, people who experience such events may feel overwhelmed by the circumstances and suffer emotional effects, which require attention by humanitarian teams (PAHO/WHO Reports, 2019).
It is for this reason that PAHO/WHO Colombia, the Red Cross Bogotá/Cundinamarca and the Universidad Los Libertadores set out to compile a toolkit of evidence-based teaching materials on mental health interventions and psychosocial support, so that specialized and non-specialized humanitarian and community personnel can easily and simply access these materials and thus provide better care to the migrant population arriving at different points of reception in the country.
Since the Toolbox compiles information from multiple sources of information related to mental health care and psychosocial support that is used in humanitarian contexts in different regions of the world and in Colombia, the decision was made to host this Toolbox in the Virtual Health Library - Colombia (VHL COLOMBIA), as a VITRINA so that different audiences can easily access all the information. The Virtual Health Library is coordinated by the Fundación Universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud - FUCS, which is why we are holding this event today.