The conference, organized by UNDP, will cover the issue of providing quality psychological care in Ukraine, and aims to present the latest scientific approaches in this area

Kyiv, 29 October 2021 – The international conference “Mental Health: Ukraine. The World. The Future” kicked off in Kyiv today. The event is organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with the support of the European Union and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Due to the long-lasting armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, the issue of providing qualified psychological assistance to non-combatants affected by the fighting and to ATO/JFO ex-combatants remains urgent, and there is a growing demand among professionals for improved mental health methods for providing psychological support.

The Minister for Veteran Affairs of Ukraine Yuliia Laputina stressed that the government and society, based on international experience, should now join efforts to create an effective system of medical and psychological rehabilitation for ATO/JFO ex-combatants.

“This is an important element of national security, because the ability of each veteran to contribute to the development of their own business and community, and to strengthen civil society, depends directly on their mental health,” Laputina added.

Manal Fouani, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine, said that the protracted conflict in the east of the country, ongoing since 2014, presented a severe challenge for ex-combatants and the civilian population caught up in it.

“As a person who has lived through many wars myself, I can assure you that without determined action, the mental health impact of the armed conflict might last longer than the conflict itself,” Fouani said. “For this reason, we need to make a collective effort – the Government, civil society, health authorities, families and others – to address the mental health dimension of the armed conflict and crisis.”

The conference covered cognitive processing therapy for dealing with traumatic events, scientific approaches to selecting the best practices of psychosocial care, standards in psychotherapeutic work with trauma, and the latest scientific approaches to providing psychological assistance to ex-combatants and people whose psychological state has been affected by armed conflict.

Jennes de Mol, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ukraine, thanked the conference organizers for arranging the event, and said Ukrainian mental health professionals attending it would have access to the latest research and methods of psychological care for those affected by armed conflict.

“The methods and treatments presented at this conference will be crucial in helping Ukraine address the serious mental health consequences of the long-running armed conflict in the east of the country,” de Mol said.

Martin Schroeder, Head of the Operations Section for Local and Human Development at the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, said the toll taken on the mental health of Ukrainians by the conflict should not be ignored.

“While physical injuries from the conflict can be all too visible, the damage it does to mental health, though not visible, can be no less severe,” Schroeder  said. “We must remember that those affected by the conflict, while seeming fine on the outside, could be suffering on the inside. The work of this conference is thus vital.”

The event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, representatives of other ministries and government agencies, leading researchers, experts, psychologists and the creators of scientific methods for providing psychological assistance to ex-combatants and people affected by armed conflict. International experts from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Poland joined in the discussions as well.

The conference was organized by UNDP in partnership with Development Foundation NGO, Wesleyan University and Wayne State University under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, with financial support from the European Union and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Join the conference online here.

Background

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Twelve international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Media enquiries

Yuliia Samus, UNDP Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org