A community engagement skills training intervention to support refugees in Malaysia

Abstract

The refugee and asylum-seeking populations in Malaysia face several psychosocialstressors, including the inability to secure safe and stable employment, fear of arrest and detention, inability to afford basic necessities, as well as the lack of access to services, including health care – all of which can impact one’s mental health. To address these challenges, Health Equity Initiatives (‎HEI)‎ – a nongovernmental organization in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – is committed to advancing the right to health of these marginalized populations in the Klang Valley through its integrated and comprehensive mental health programmes designed for refugees and asylum seekers. The programme is for HEI patients originating from Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen who are diagnosed with, among other conditions, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, trauma and stress-related disorders, somatic symptoms disorders, substance-related disorders, neurodevelopmental or neurocognitive disorders.