Who Cares about Helpers and Responders in Armed Conflicts and Pandemics? - WE CARE!
Spreading awareness is key. Especially in times of armed conflicts and pandemics, which pose a major threat not only to physical, but also to mental health. Strengthening the mental health of healthcare workers, helpers and volunteers who provide relief 24/7 is the central priority of the Who Cares project. The targeted regions of the project are the South Caucasus, with special regard to Armenia and Georgia, as well as the Ukraine.
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About the Project

The project – Increasing Knowledge and Partnerships on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Helpers in Pandemics and Conflicts (Who Cares) – is committed to build strong partnerships in civil protection and disaster risk management with respect to Mental Health and Psychosocial support for helpers in pandemics and armed conflicts.

The Goal of the project

The project aims to support civil protection and disaster risk management actors that promote and facilitate the dissemination and exchange of knowledge, good practices, and expertise in civil protection and disaster management. The online media library – WHO CARES – is an effective, appropriate, and innovative way for this purpose as it includes best practices for training and knowledge exchange with focus on tools supporting helpers in distress.

Donors


The Who Cares project is funded by the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (ECHO) and co-funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADA).

Key partners of Who Cares

ui
aucr
arcs
grc
phu
Tbilisi state uni_logo
TSNUK logo_ENG
Associated beneficiaries:

Emergency Management Service Georgia (EMS-G)

Ministry of Emergency Situations Armenia (MES-A)

IFRC country cluster office South Caucasus

IFRC Reference Centre for Psycho-social support

Who Cares Context

As MHPSS becomes increasingly important for helpers and responders in conflicts and pandemics, this requires:

  • New forms of support for helpers
  • Increase in knowledge exchange and networking on new forms of support
Specific objective 1

To support the design, development and implementation of multi-disciplinary, risk-based thematic communities /centres of expertise for civil protection and disaster management stakeholders.

Specific objective 2

To support the design, development and implementation of capacity development and applied science activities that contribute to building and sharing of knowledge, expertise and skills in civil protection and disaster management.

Who Cares Target group / End-Users
  • Strengthened national and regional MHPSS networks
  • Wider UCPM knowledge network
  • Austrian Red Cross
  • Armenian Red Cross
  • Georgia Red Cross
  • All helpers and responders

Our Team

Austrian Red Cross

Ms Elin Baranyai-Ulvestad
Project manager

Austrian Red Cross

Ms Melanie Roggisch
Project media support

Armenian Red Cross Society

Ms Lusine Kocharyan
Project officer

Armenian Red Cross Society

Ms Armida Zakharyan
Psychologist

Georgia Red Cross Society

Ms Tamar Kamkamidze
Project officer

Georgia Red Cross Society

Ms Nino Siradze
Psychologist

Ilia State University

Ms Mariam Dalakishvili
Researcher

University of Innsbruck

Ms Barbara Juen
Psychologist

University of Innsbruck

Mr Michael Lindenthal
Psychologist

University of Innsbruck

Mr Alexander Kreh
Psychologist

University of Innsbruck

Ms Zehra Basim
Trainee

IFRC Reference centre for Psychosocial support

Ms Ea Suzanne Akasha
Senior Technical Advisor

IFRC Country Cluster for South Caucasus

Ms Nana Tsavana
Senior Health Officer