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Guidance Note: Integrating youth leadership into MHPSS responses in humanitarian settings

This guidance note is a comprehensive resource for recognizing and engaging young people as leaders in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) responses during humanitarian emergencies. It outlines the numerous benefits of youth leadership, including increased relevance, reach, and effectiveness of MHPSS interventions, while also acknowledging the challenges that need to be addressed.

Through a collaborative research process involving the MHPSS Collaborative, master’s students from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and young people themselves, this guidance identifies key principles for establishing meaningful partnerships with youth, such as adaptability, equality, inclusivity, and agency. It offers practical strategies for organizations to build internal capacity, train and mentor young leaders, ensure their safety and well-being, and meaningfully integrate them into decision-making structures.

This resource serves as a roadmap for MHPSS organizations, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to harness the power of youth leadership for a more inclusive, impactful, and sustainable approach to MHPSS responses in humanitarian emergencies. The Integrating Youth Leadership into Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Responses in Humanitarian Emergencies collection includes a report from the research, this guidance note and an assessment scale.