WHO and a number of states to work on providing psychological assistance to Ukrainian refugees

Fahmy Hanna, expert of the WHO Geneva Headquarters, co-chair of the Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support made this statement at Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform.

Fahmy Hanna’s visit to Ukraine is taking place as a part of the implementation of the first lady Olena Zelenska’s initiative to create a National Program of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.

“In two weeks from now, the WHO European Office in Copenhagen will be hosting a meeting with mental health focal points from countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and others to discuss and adapt the Ukrainian roadmap to the context of Ukrainian refugees. Again, from the outset, the WHO has been very active in supporting all these initiatives. The WHO took all the resources, the best standards in mental health and psychosocial support, translated and adapted (them) into the Ukrainian and neighboring countries’ context,” — he said.

The Co-Chair of the Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support pointed out that after the war, the healthcare sector of Ukraine will face an ambitious task of rebuilding the system of psychological assistance to the population.

“In a war situation, psychological distress is common, so people may feel helpless, hopeless and sad, anxious… What we also need to remember is that even without war, in every country of the world, there are people with pre-existing mental health conditions. This is even a more vulnerable population that will benefit from scaling up mental health and psychosocial support services,” — he said.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news