Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve mental health education in developing countries.

DFID is committed to strengthening mental health in education. This is outlined in DFID’s new Disability Inclusion Strategy (2018-2023) and Education Policy (2018).

DFID supports Syrian refugee children to recover from war through the No Lost Generation Initiative in Lebanon (2016-2020). In the last year, DFID has been supporting the Ministry of Education in the roll-out of a child protection policy in schools, and supported training of school counsellors and school child protection focal points in psychological first aid and support. This enables them to better identify, support and refer children at risk.

Over the last six months, DFID has also worked closely with Education Cannot Wait, the first global fund on education in emergencies, to strengthen mental health and psychosocial support in schools. In May 2019 Education Cannot Wait started a formal partnership with the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Collaborative for Children and Families. As a result, children will be able to access opportunities for healing, recovery and learning in safe and nurturing educational environments in conflict and humanitarian settings.