Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities

Climate change and forced displacement are deeply interconnected crises with profound mental health consequences. More than 120 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, with the majority living in climate-vulnerable countries. This brief examines how the interaction between climate change, d...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Campbell, Raramai, Ramos, Cristina, Takaindisa, Joyce, Maviza, Gracsious
Formato: Brief
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177405
_version_ 1855538053234294784
author Campbell, Raramai
Ramos, Cristina
Takaindisa, Joyce
Maviza, Gracsious
author_browse Campbell, Raramai
Maviza, Gracsious
Ramos, Cristina
Takaindisa, Joyce
author_facet Campbell, Raramai
Ramos, Cristina
Takaindisa, Joyce
Maviza, Gracsious
author_sort Campbell, Raramai
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Climate change and forced displacement are deeply interconnected crises with profound mental health consequences. More than 120 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, with the majority living in climate-vulnerable countries. This brief examines how the interaction between climate change, displacement, and mental health generates compounding risks that traditional humanitarian and climate responses are ill-equipped to address. Based on a review of the literature and field research in the Tongogara Refugee Settlement (Zimbabwe), this brief highlights how climate hazards such as extreme heat, floods, and droughts exacerbate trauma, disrupt livelihoods, and weaken social support systems. Climate-related stressors intensify pre-existing psychological distress and limit displaced populations’ capacity for adaptation. Yet, communities also display remarkable resilience through social networks, and grassroots climate action initiatives. The brief proposes seven strategies to build integrated responses that recognize displaced populations as active agents of resilience: embedding mental health in climate adaptation programs, improving climate risk communication, developing inclusive early warning systems, promoting peer-support networks, addressing gendered vulnerabilities, and adopting long-term climate-resilient planning in displacement settings.
format Brief
id CGSpace177405
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1774052025-12-02T10:59:51Z Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities Campbell, Raramai Ramos, Cristina Takaindisa, Joyce Maviza, Gracsious health climate displacement humanitarian organizations climate action Climate change and forced displacement are deeply interconnected crises with profound mental health consequences. More than 120 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, with the majority living in climate-vulnerable countries. This brief examines how the interaction between climate change, displacement, and mental health generates compounding risks that traditional humanitarian and climate responses are ill-equipped to address. Based on a review of the literature and field research in the Tongogara Refugee Settlement (Zimbabwe), this brief highlights how climate hazards such as extreme heat, floods, and droughts exacerbate trauma, disrupt livelihoods, and weaken social support systems. Climate-related stressors intensify pre-existing psychological distress and limit displaced populations’ capacity for adaptation. Yet, communities also display remarkable resilience through social networks, and grassroots climate action initiatives. The brief proposes seven strategies to build integrated responses that recognize displaced populations as active agents of resilience: embedding mental health in climate adaptation programs, improving climate risk communication, developing inclusive early warning systems, promoting peer-support networks, addressing gendered vulnerabilities, and adopting long-term climate-resilient planning in displacement settings. 2025-10-23 2025-10-29T15:15:06Z 2025-10-29T15:15:06Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177405 en Open Access application/pdf Campbell, R.; Ramos, C.; Takaindisa, J.; Maviza, G. (2025) Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities. 29 p.
spellingShingle health
climate
displacement
humanitarian organizations
climate action
Campbell, Raramai
Ramos, Cristina
Takaindisa, Joyce
Maviza, Gracsious
Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title_full Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title_fullStr Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title_full_unstemmed Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title_short Climate, displacement and mental health. Overlapping challenges and opportunities
title_sort climate displacement and mental health overlapping challenges and opportunities
topic health
climate
displacement
humanitarian organizations
climate action
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177405
work_keys_str_mv AT campbellraramai climatedisplacementandmentalhealthoverlappingchallengesandopportunities
AT ramoscristina climatedisplacementandmentalhealthoverlappingchallengesandopportunities
AT takaindisajoyce climatedisplacementandmentalhealthoverlappingchallengesandopportunities
AT mavizagracsious climatedisplacementandmentalhealthoverlappingchallengesandopportunities