Mental Health and Psycho-Social-Spiritual Support for Muslim Populations in Emergency Settings

Abstract

There are 50 Muslim majority countries in our world today, with a total population of approximately 1.8 billion people (Lipka & Hacket, 2017). About 91% of the total population in the Middle EastNorth Africa (MENA) identify as Muslim, but this makes up only ~20% of the total Muslim population (Pew Research Center, 2011). Most Muslims live in AsianPacific countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Iran and Turkey. Muslims account for 31% of the population in South Asia (Pew Research Center, 2011), 30% in SubSahara Africa (Pew Research Center, 2013), 6% in Europe, and 1% in the Americas (Pew Research Center, 2013). Therefore, Muslims not only make up a sizeable number of the total human population, but they are also a geographically diverse group. Many Muslim majority countries are affected by significant political, social, economic and security challenges resulting in various forms of human suffering and devastation. The unprecedented displacement of persons is one such form of human devastation. There are over 25 million refugees worldwide with the majority coming from Muslimmajority countries. Furthermore, out of the world’s top 10 refugee host countries, the majority are Muslimmajority host countries (UNHCR, 2018).