A.

IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings

INTRODUCTION

Initiated by WHO, the IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency
Settings reflect the insights of numerous agencies and practitioners worldwide and provide
valuable information to organizations and individuals on how to respond appropriately during
humanitarian emergencies.

The Guidelines include a matrix, with guidance for emergency planning, actions to be taken in the
early stages of an emergency and comprehensive responses needed in the recovery and
rehabilitation phases. The matrix is a valuable tool for use in coordination, collaboration and
advocacy efforts. It provides a framework for mapping the extent to which essential first
responses are being implemented during an emergency.

What is meant by mental health and psychosocial support?

Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPss) is a composite term used in these guidelines to
describe any type of local or outside support that aims to protect or promote psychosocial well-
being and/or prevent or treat mental disorder.

Purpose of these guidelines

The primary purpose of these guidelines is to enable humanitarian actors and communities to
plan, establish and coordinate a set of minimum multi-sectoral responses to protect and improve
people's mental health and psychosocial well-being in the midst of an emergency. The focus of
the guidelines is on implementing minimum responses, which are essential, high-priority
responses that should be implemented as soon as possible in an emergency.

Mental health And Psychosocial Support (MhPSS) In emergency Settings: Matrix of

Interventions

A. Common functions across domains

1. Coordination
2. Assessment, monitoring and evaluation
3. Protection and human rights standards
4. Human Resources

Part B. Core mental health and psychosocial support domains

5. Community mobilisation and support

6. Health services
7. Education
8. Dissemination of information

Part C. Social considerations in sectoral

9. Food security and nutrition

10. Shelter and site planning
11. Water and sanitation

B. Guiding principles for feeding infants and young children during emergencies

OVERVIEW

Meeting the specific nutritional requirements of infants and young children, including protecting,
promoting and supporting optimal feed- ing practices, should be a routine part of any emergency
relief response. Indeed, it should be at the centre of efforts to protect the right of affected
children to food, life and a productive future.

KEY POINTS

 Malnutrition is a major threat to children’s lives during emergencies.

 For those children who survive malnutrition, the enduring consequences include diminished
quality of life and reduced productivity.
 The fundamental means of preventing malnutrition in infants and young children is to
ensure their optimal feeding and care.
 The challenging conditions typically faced during emergencies, together with the weakening
or dismantling of family and community structures, can undermine breastfeeding practice
and interfere with crucial support for breastfeeding women.

GUIDELINES

Breastfeeding

Principle 1. Infants born into populations affected by emergencies should normally be exclusively
breastfed from birth to 6 months of age.

Principle 2. The aim should be to create and sustain an environment that encourages frequent
breastfeeding for children up to two years or beyond.

Breast-milk substitutes

Principle 3. The quantity, distribution and use of breast-milk substitutes at emer- gency sites
should be strictly controlled.

Complementary feeding

Principle 4. To sustain growth, development and health, infants from 6 months on- wards and
older children need hygienically prepared, and easy-to-eat and digest, foods that nutritionally
complement breast milk.
Principle 5. Caregivers need secure uninterrupted access to appropriate ingredients with which to
prepare and feed nutrient-dense foods to older infants and young children.

Caring for caregivers

Principle 6. Because the number of caregivers is often reduced during emergencies as stress
levels increase, promoting caregivers’ coping capacity is an essential part of fostering good
feeding practices for infants and young children.

Protecting children

Principle 7. The health and vigour of infants and children should be protected so they are able to
suckle frequently and well and maintain their appetite for complementary foods.

Malnutrition

Principle 8. Nutritional status should be continually monitored to identify malnour- ished children
so that their condition can be assessed and treated, and prevented from deteriorating further.
Malnutrition’s underlying causes should be investigated and corrected.

The acute phase of emergencies

Principle 9. To minimize an emergency’s negative impact on feeding practices, inter- ventions

should begin immediately. The focus should be on supporting caregivers and channelling scarce
resources to meet the nutritional needs of the infants and young children in their charge.

Assessment, intervention and monitoring

Principle 10. Promoting optimal feeding for infants and young children in emergen- cies requires
a flexible approach based on continual careful monitoring.

Precipitation (Rain & Rainshowers) Description

I. Rains

 Overcast sky with continuous or steady precipitation that may last several hours.
 Has a water droplets of 0.5 mm or greater in size but if widely scattered the drops may be
smaller.
 Associated with meso-scale (synoptic) system or macro-scale (large scale) system like
TC's, Easterly Waves, Monsoons, Fronts and ITCZ.
 RAIN CLASSIFICATION DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION

Very Light Rains  Scattered drops that do not

completely wet an exposed surface
regardless of duration.

Light Rains  The rate of fall is from trace

to 2.5 mm per hour.
 Individual drops easily
identified and puddles(small muddy
pools) form slowly.
 Small streams may flow in
gutters.

Moderate Rains  The rate of fall is between

2.5 mm to 7.5 mm per hour.
 Puddles rapidly forming and
down pipes flowing freely.

Heavy Rains  The rate of fall is greater

than 7.5 mm per hour.
 The sky is overcast, there is
a continuous precipitation.
 Falls in sheets, misty spray
over hard surfaces.
 May cause roaring noise on
roofs.

Monsoon Rains Other Descriptions:

 Heavy and continuous

precipitation attributed to either the
Southwest or Northeast Monsoon.

Occasional Rains  Not frequent but is recurrent

precipitation.

Widespread Rains  Precipitation occuring

 RAIN CLASSIFICATION DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION

extensively throughout an area.

Frequent Rains  Precipitation occuring

regularly and often throughout the
time duration.

Intermittent Rains  Precipitation which ceases at

times and re-occur again.

II. Rainshowers

 Precipitation of short duration but usually of greater intensity from convective

clouds(primarily cumulus or cumulonimbus)
 Characterized by sudden start and sudden end of precipitation, rapid change in intensity.

RAINSHOWERS DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION

Scattered Rainshowers  The rain-bearing clouds is

distributed spatially resulting to
rainshowers occuring to the bigger
part of the forecasted area.

Isolated Rainshowers  The rain-bearing clouds is

small and isolated resulting to
rainshowers occuring only to a small
part of the forecasted area.

Occasional Rainshowers  There is a large amount of

convective clouds and precipitation
occur in most parts of the forecasted
area occasionally, and varying in
rainfall amount.

Squally Rainshowers  Showers accompanied by

brief but sudden strong or gale force
 RAINSHOWERS DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION

winds.

Tropical Cyclone Warning Icons

Warning Lead
Time
(Hours before
onset of wind
Wind Signal Wind Threat threat) Potential Impacts

Strong winds 36 hours Minimal to minor

Beaufort 6-7 threat to life
and property

39-61 km/h

(22-33 kt, 10.8-17.1

m/s)

Gale-force winds 24 hours Minor to moderate

Beaufort 8-9 threat to life
and property

62-88 km/h

(34-47 kt, 17.2-24.4

m/s)

Storm-force winds 18 hours Moderate to

Beaufort 10-11 significant
threat to life
and property
89-117 km/h

(48-63 kt, 24.5-32.6

m/s)
 Warning Lead
Time
(Hours before
onset of wind
Wind Signal Wind Threat threat) Potential Impacts

Typhoon-force 12 hours Significant to

winds severe threat to
Beaufort 12 life and property

118-184km/h

(64-99 kt, 32.7-51.2

m/s)

Typhoon-force 12 hours Extreme threat to

winds life and property
Beaufort 12

185 km/h or higher

(100 kt or higher,
51.3 m/s or higher)

Flood Advisory
Non-Telemetered River Basin
General Flood Advisory (GFA)A General Flood Advisory is simplified flood bulletin issued

for non-telemetered river basins whenever there is a significant amount of

rainfall recorded based on past/current observation and the forecast rainfall
from the numerical weather prediction models, satellite based information
and estimates from radar. It is issued to the public on a regional basis through
NDRRMC at 7:00am and 7:00pm

Telemetered River Basin. River Basins with fully automatic data transmission
equipped with a telecommunication system.

Flood Bulletin. Flood forecast issued by the respective river basin centers like
Pampanga, Agno, Bicol, Cagayan and Cagayan De Oro, prepared twice daily
during floodwatch. Water level is monitored based on the assessment levels
(Alert, Alarm and Critical) which means 40%, 60% and 100% of the river is full
respectively.

Flood Warning Level

Flood Monitoring

Flood Alert

Flood Warning
 Severe Flooding

Flood Warning Icons

Action /
Icon Description Forecast Response

Flood Telemeterd: Telemeterd:

Monitoring Flood is possible
Non-Telemeterd:
Telemetered: Non-Telemeterd: Advised to take
Slow rise in Light to Precautionary
water level but Moderate Measures
still below alarm Rainfall
level

Non-
Telemetered:
Monitor for
possible flooding
area

Flood Alert Telemeterd: Telemeterd:

Flood is
Telemetered: Non-Telemeterd:
threatening
Water level is Advised to be
continuously Non-Telemeterd: alert for possible
rising but still Moderate to flood, flash flood
below critical Heavy Rainfall and landslides
level

Non-
Telemetered:
Alert for possible
flash floods and
landslides

Flood Warning Telemeterd: Telemeterd:

Flood is occuring
Telemetered: Non-Telemeterd:
Water level is Non-Telemeterd: Advised to take
above critical Heavy to Intense appropriate
level Rainfall action
 Action /
Icon Description Forecast Response

Non-
Telemetered:
Flood is occuring
immediate action
is recommended

Severe Flood Telemeterd: Telemeterd:

Warning Flood is
Non-Telemeterd:
persisting
Telemetered: Advised to force
Water level is Non-Telemeterd: evacuation
continuously Intense to
rising above Torrential
critical level Rainfall

Non-
Telemetered:
Flood is
persisting force
evacuation is
recommended

Final Flood is no
longer
Telemetered:
possible
Slow recession
of water level

Non-
Telemetered:
Light rains

Rainfall Warning Icons

Icon Description Forecast

Advisory Flooding is
POSSIBLE in low-
Community
lying areas and
AWARENESS
near river
channels.
 Icon Description Forecast

Alert Flooding is
THREATHENING in
Community
low-lying areas and
PREPAREDNESS
near river
channels.

Emergency SEVERE Flooding is

EXPECTED. Take
Community
necessary
RESPONSE
precautionary
measures.

Thunderstorm Warning Icons

Icon Description

Thunderstorm Advisory

 This will be issued when

there is an indication that a
thunderstorm is threatening a
specific area(s) within the next 2
hours.
 Updates will be issued as
frequent as necessary.
 This will be disseminated via
SMS, Social Media, and website.

Thunderstorm Watch

 This will inform the public

that TSTM formation is likely within
the next twelve (12) hours.
 This is more general than a
warning.
 This will be disseminated
thru Social Media, and website.
 Icon Description

Thunderstorm Information

 Issued when TSTM is less

likely within the next twelve (12)
hours.
 This will be disseminated
thru Twitter, Facebook, and website.

Flood is "an abnormal progressive rise in the water level of a stream that may result in the
overflowing by the water of the normal confines of the stream with the subsequent
inundation of areas which are not normally submerged".

FLOOD: TYPES

MINOR FLOODING
- Inundation may or may not be due to overbanking
- When there is no bank overflow, flooding is simply due to the accumulation of excessive surface
run-off in low lying flat areas
- Floodwaters are usually confined to the flood plain of the river along the channel, on random
low-lying areas and depressions in the terrain
- Floodwater is usually shallow and there may not be a perceptible flow

MAJOR FLOODING
- Flooding is caused by the overflowing of rivers and lakes; by serious breaks in dikes, levees,
dams and other protective structures; by uncontrollable releases of impounded water in reservoirs
and by the accumulation of excessive runoff
- Floodwaters cover a wide contiguous area and spread rapidly to adjoining areas of relatively
lower elevation
- Flooding is relatively deep in most parts of the stricken areas
- There is a highly perceptible current as the flood spreads to other areas
 FLASH FLOOD
While floods take some time, usually from 12 to 24 hours or even longer, to develop after the
occurrence of intense rainfall, there is a particular type which develops after no more than six
hours and, frequently, after an even less time. These are what are known as "flash floods".