Trauma and taboos: how Portugal takes care of migrants' mental health
The What Health project uses community diaspora events to reach out to migrants in need of help with their mental health.
Sofia Peyssonneau / AKF
Media Source: Radio France International
Date: 28 July 2026
At the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, a small team is prepping for the organisation's outreach work. Their aim is to gather information on the mental health and wellbeing of migrants, as part of a project called What Health. Their plans include approaching migrant communities on the street, as well as making the most of diaspora…
At the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, a small team is prepping for the organisation's outreach work. Their aim is to gather information on the mental health and wellbeing of migrants, as part of a project called What Health. Their plans include approaching migrant communities on the street, as well as making the most of diaspora festivals and events to distribute their questionnaires. "Mental health is an extremely complex subject, and therefore a taboo for many," explains Sofia Peyssonneau, a community development officer at the Aga Khan Foundation working on the project. "We can't just organise events labelled 'mental health'. We need to find other strategies. For example, when there's a diaspora festival, we ask to set up a stand there. We offer a health check-up with the team's doctors, and then participants fill in a questionnaire on mental health."