Over 80 humanitarian professionals and emergency responders from across the globe gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in late May for WHO’s fifth global “Building Better Before” capacity-building workshop and full-scale simulation exercise. The event was designed to help integrate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into operational readiness to ensure that when the next crisis hits, systems are in place not only to respond to physical needs, but to support mental wellbeing as well.
This year’s programme was organized with the support of the WHO Kobe Centre (WKC). Dr Ryoma Kayano, WKC Technical Officer, played a key role in co-developing the content and facilitating sessions throughout the four-day event.
“This initiative is not only about building technical capacities,” he noted. “It’s about changing how we think about preparedness – making sure that mental health is part of the conversation before emergencies begin.”
The workshop featured two days of interactive learning focused on MHPSS and disaster risk reduction, followed by two days of a real-time, multi-sectoral simulation exercise. Participants were immersed in evolving emergency scenarios that required them to navigate coordination challenges, simulate decision-making under pressure, and test their operational systems in a realistic, high-stakes environment.
Participants represented a wide range of sectors – including health, protection, and education – and came from countries across multiple regions. Using a training package developed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) MHPSS Reference Group and WHO, they explored practical approaches to embedding MHPSS into disaster preparedness and emergency response plans.
As a follow-up to the event, the WKC is planning a high-level expert meeting in Japan, bringing together Japanese stakeholders to discuss how the lessons from Addis Ababa can inform domestic strategies for integrating MHPSS into emergency systems and national policy.
This global workshop series is part of WHO’s broader effort to help countries meet the target set in the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030, ensuring that by 2030, 80% of countries have systems in place for MHPSS operational readiness.
In parallel, WKC continues to contribute to this global goal through research and innovation. One such initiative is a recently completed research project exploring how MHPSS can be more effectively integrated across emergency preparedness and response systems. The project findings are available here.
