Fill the MHPSS Gap
Ukraine is in the midst of a continued effort to defend and sustain its public services in the context of Russian aggression. The country is advancing its recovery efforts using building back better approaches and advancing health reforms to transform its health system. The reform has shown early positive results, but it needs continuation and a holistic approach to ensure stable results.
Russian invasion of Ukraine has placed additional pressure on an already strained mental health system, disrupting much needed mental health and psychosocial support. Fear and anxiety from exposure to violence and trauma, along with stressors related to displacement, family separation and the loss of livelihoods, have only risen as the war has escalated.
The World Bank (WB) has been supporting health reform within both operational and technical assistance projects. The Bank has an active portfolio in Ukraine, which includes three lending operations in the health sector, advisory and analytical work, which supports the implementation of health reforms, health system modernization, and COVID-19 response.
According to this rationale, the main objectives of MdM-Greece intervention in support of people’s mental health are to define a model of a comprehensive approach to managing mental health (MH model) in select communities (hromadas) of 3 regions of Ukraine (Sumy, Chernivtsy, Odesa region), to support the implementation of the MH model in cooperation with the national and local governments and to review the implementation of the model and provide recommendations on its improvement and scale up.
More specifically, MdM-Greece will engage experts with different backgrounds conducting a community survey and appraisal to identify capacity/needs/gaps among social workers and medical staff in providing MH services. The organization will also work towards raising patients’ awareness thus increasing the accessing MH services. Last but not least, MdM-Greece will define training needs in AoR and train social workers, health professionals and community members in mhGAP and PM+ WHO modules, accordingly.
