Remote villages in the High Atlas Mountains suffered major damage when the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck. Almost 3,000 people were killed, and many more injured. Our emergency teams focused on assessing the medical and humanitarian situation in the most seriously affected provinces, Al-Haouz, Taroudant and Chichaoua.

While most medical needs were met by the Moroccan authorities and other organisations, our teams noted significant gaps in psychological support for people affected by the quake, and therefore made mental health care our priority.

For two months, our teams provided mental health and psychosocial support in these three provinces, mostly to women and children, but also to volunteers, search and rescue teams and other people involved in the emergency response. We also conducted training on psychological first aid for members of Moroccan organisations.

Our teams worked to reach people living in the most remote areas, who had been cut off from services due to the damage to roads. Many of them decided to stay in their villages rather than seek refuge elsewhere.

In addition to offering mental health care, we distributed relief items, such as mattresses and blankets. We also launched an online health promotion campaign to engage with people seeking further mental health support.

At the beginning of December, we handed over some of our activities to CEFA, an international non-governmental organisation, and concluded our support to the emergency response.