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To amplify the awareness, promote and mainstream mental health and psychosocial programs in the humanitarian sector and in the workplace, a multi-sectoral collaboration composed of CSOs, government agencies, local government units, faith-based organizations and the academe will launch the first localized Wellbeing Cluster in the Philippines on July 30, 2018 at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
Following this, on July 31, the Governance and Linkages Unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI-G&L), in partnership with the University of San Carlos, and the Wellbeing Cluster, will be holding Understanding Choices Forum (UCF) on Mental Health in the Workplace; and an array of learning sessions, namely:

• Mental health conversations with the youth,
• DRRM innovations,
• Urban resilience through integrated risk management,
• Awareness on hazard mapping, and;
• Preparedness and youth Initiatives on Emergency Response

The vision of this initiative is that by 2020, a locally led multi-sectoral Wellbeing Cluster will be recognized and become fully functional in Central Visayas.
The Wellbeing Cluster is the first in the Philippines and potentially in the world. The Cluster recognizes that mental health is a concern, too, in workplaces and not just limited to issues and concerns in the humanitarian sector.
The passage of the Republic Act 11036 or the Philippine Mental Health Law on June 2018, provides an opportunity to promote further the Cluster’s purpose. The law aims to protect the rights of persons with mental health needs.
The formation of the Cluster started in an inception meeting in July 2017 and followed by governance and operational meeting. Each of the organizations below had contributed to establishment of the Wellbeing Cluster.
Local organizations:

• Bohol Chambers of Commerce (BCCI)
• Bohol Consortium on Humanitarian Assistance (BCHA)
• Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP)
• Central Visayas Network of NGOs (CENVISNET)
• Federation of Volunteers through Radio Communications (FVRC)
• Fellowship of Organization Endeavors (FORGE)
• Independent POCU Film
• Kaabag sa Sugbo
• MINSAC
• Organization Advocates of Inclusion
• Philippine Red Cross (PRC) – Cebu Chapter
• Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI)
• Social Action Center (SAC) – Dumaguete

International Organizations:

• Action Against Hunger UK
• Christian Aid
• Humanitarian Leadership Academy
• OXFAM
• Plan International
• UN-OCHA
• World Vision

Government Agencies:

• Cebu Provincial Government – PDRRMO
• Cebu Provincial Government –Human Resource Department
• DOH 7
• DSWD 7
• OCD 7

The Academic community:

• Ateneo de Manila University
• University of Bohol
• University of San Carlos – Community Extension Services (USC-CES), and Psychology Department;
• University of the Philippines – Visayas

Hitendra Solanki, a mindfulness and wellbeing adviser of Action Against Hunger UK, first introduced the Wellbeing Cluster, which explores how wellbeing approaches can be improved and transformed within the humanitarian sector.
The Wellbeing Cluster aims to create a structured platform that brings humanitarian agencies together to prioritize the wellbeing of aid workers, specifically on supporting their mental health.
A 2015 survey by the Guardian Newspaper on humanitarian workers revealed that 79% of the 754 workers surveyed had experienced mental health issues. Of this number, 93% indicated this was directly related to working within the humanitarian sector itself.
Another survey conducted in late 2016 also revealed that 48% of deployed staff had indicated they had experienced ‘a threat to their life.’
RAFI through its Humanitarian Disaster Preparedness and Response (HDPR) Unit serves as the lead convener of the Cluster for two (2) years.
For inquiries on the activity, one may contact Mikee Pepito at wellbeingcluster@gmail.com or call +63 942 5428 772.