Mental health and/or psychosocial support are priorities for all the funding partners approached, and most fund all ‘layers’ of MHPSS (in reference to the IASC MHPSS Intervention Pyramid). Among the funding partners engaged, funding for MHPSS sits within various departments and mechanisms and is available across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace ‘nexus’.

Within individual institutional funders, funding for MHPSS activities is frequently fragmented across different departments by sector (e.g. protection, health), population group (e.g. refugees, victims of torture), or phase of emergency (e.g. disaster preparedness, humanitarian, development). Among some institutional funders, it is not uncommon for multiple departments to fund work in the same country. In addition, core/unrestricted funding is available to implementing partners, who can then allocate it to MHPSS if they prioritise this internally; the Movement receives significant funding via this mechanism.

Another aspect to note is that institutional funders often make grants for MHPSS in-country, influenced by in-country priorities and through direct relationships with implementing partners. Lastly, it is important to be aware that for some institutional donors, funding for psychosocial support sits within protection or a multi-sectoral humanitarian structure (whereas within the Movement, MHPSS most often sits within health). Overall, understanding and aligning with donor structures is key.