Forum integrates mental health, peace building to fight sexual violence

Participants during training on integration of mental health and psychosocial support and peace building in the Great Lakes region in Nairobi on February 9, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

A forum seeking to integrate mental health, psychosocial support, and peace building into the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has opened in Nairobi.

The four-day Training of Trainers workshop runs through February 12 and brings together judicial officers, police units, social workers, medical officers, and experts from Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya.

“This workshop is designed to integrate MHPSS and PB into SGBV prevention,” said Dr Janviere Ndirahisha, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Regional Training Facility (ICGLR-RTF) Regional Director.

“We aim to build an understanding of how these approaches complement each other, identify challenges, co-create interventions, and develop an action plan for follow-up training.”

ICGLR-RTF has conducted similar sessions in Burundi, CAR, Rwanda, and Uganda, with training programmes already rolled out in Burundi and Uganda.

Kenya’s session follows a January 28–29 stakeholder meeting in Kampala that informed the workshop’s design.

“After this training, four participants will receive additional support to train others,” noted Ndirahisha, adding, “We expect them to implement the action plan in their areas, and we will follow up to assess impact.”

The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), established under the 2006 Pact on Security, Stability and Development, works with 12 member states to prevent sexual violence.

ICGLR-RTF provides specialised training to professionals handling SGBV cases.

“The integration of MHPSS and PB is critical to responding to SGBV holistically,” Ndirahisha added.