From November 26 to 28, Kyiv hosted the Mental Health Forum “Human Resilience – System Resilience”. This three-day event served as a platform for sharing experiences and developing solutions to build the mental health system and services in Ukraine during the ongoing war and the country’s recovery process.
The participants of the event included representatives of central executive authorities, regions, communities involved in the implementation of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How are you?”, members of parliament, the expert and scientific community, universities, non-governmental organizations, service providers from various sectors, international partner organizations, businesses and the creative industry.
The forum was opened by First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, who initiated the launch of the “How are you?” program.
The mental health team of the USAID PHS R&R Activity brought their expertise to the Forum, enriching the discussions with their insights.
Marta Melnyk, PHS R&R Mental Health Team Lead, gave a presentation at the thematic session “Trauma-informed approach and communication: what everyone needs to know” and participated in the final panel summarizing the results of the second day of the Forum.
On the third day the event held an expo of the best practices from community-based mental health service providers or “marketplace”, where the regional coordinators of the USAID PHS R&R Activity presented the achievements and activities of their regions.
During the Forum, the institutions, organizations, regions and communities where the mental health component is most actively and professionally implemented received awards from the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?”. In total, about 600 awardees were defined in 30 nominations in various fields: health care, social sector, education and science, defense and veteran policy, security, culture, sports, and partnership. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been recognized for its contributions to Ukraine’s healthcare sector: Theodora Dell, Acting Director of USAID in Ukraine, accepted the award on behalf of the agency.
The Forum “Human Resilience – System Resilience” was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), which provides expert support to the “How Are You?” program, and the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which supports and implements the program.
