Integrating a psychosocial perspective into poverty reduction: the case of a resettlement project in northern Sri Lanka

Maleeka Salih¹, Ananda Galappatti^2
1 psychosocial programming related to conflict and disasters in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. She is currently a Programme Coordinator at the UNFPA in Sri Lanka
² independent psychosocial worker. He is currently Advisor to The Mangrove: Psychosocial Support & Coordination Network in Batticaloa, Eastern Sri Lanka

Correspondence Address:

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

This article is about the growing interest in combining the traditionally separate objectives of poverty reduction and psychosocial support provision. It cites this development within the broader trends in the psychosocial field globally, and locally. It utilizes data from Sri Lanka to illustrate the interaction between psychosocial suffering and poverty in conflict zones. This article describes this new generation of interventions, implemented as combination projects, and explores the rationales and practices associated with them. It also illustrates the challenges inherent in such an approach through a case study.