Mental Health: The community connect

October 11, 2022

In Kashmir valley, better mental health is sought. Community outreach is reducing stigma and increasing care seeking behaviour. Every week from Monday to Friday, 30 year-old Mudasir Lone in Sopore, Kashmir, spends eight hours daily interacting with locals and talking...

The healing touch

October 11, 2022

MSF has been working in Bihar since 2007. Our activities have seen a gradual transition to focus on people living with advanced HIV and life-threatening opportunistic infections at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital in Patna, Bihar. For the unversed, patients with...

“I don’t feel heartache, it’s deep in my soul” – The mental health needs in Ukraine

June 3, 2022

“I feel fear in my soul. My fingers and hands begin to get cold,” says Vira, an elderly woman who fled the Donetsk region and is now seeking shelter in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the southwest of the country. “I’m worried about...

Yemen: The rise of severe mental health conditions in the country

November 16, 2021

Now in its seventh year, the crisis in Yemen is no longer headline news. But the conflict continues to have a devastating impact on people’s wellbeing, and on their mental health in particular. In Hajjah, where our teams have found a high need for...

World Mental Health Day: Healing the invisible wounds

October 4, 2021

MSF doctors and nurses are often seen treating physical ailments. But for people who have lived through terrible events and difficult health conditions, the psychological consequences can be severe. Today, mental healthcare is considered as an integral part of most of...

Lebanon: Overlapping crises in Lebanon increase needs and worsen access to care

January 10, 2021

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, social unrest and political turmoil. On top of that, and following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020, a major explosion tore through the capital, Beirut, in...

Lebanon: “I needed to make myself useful to overcome the panic”

October 10, 2020

MSF psychologist Sara Tannouri looks back at the blast that devastated her home city of Beirut, Lebanon two months ago and its impact on people’s mental wellbeing, including her own. 4 August 2020 at 6.08 pm. I was just about to...

Bihar: “Corona, corona, give our ball back!”

August 18, 2020

Challenges, fears and stigma of working on the frontline of COVID-19 in India. A blog by Smriti Singh* The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a unique challenge before frontline workers — it is to strike a balance between helping patients cope...

Iraq: Yazidi community suffers one crisis after another

August 10, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on the Yazidi community in the Sinjar district of northwest Iraq. Although there are not many cases recorded in the area, the restrictive measures adopted in Iraq (as in many other countries worldwide) to curb...

India

June 16, 2020

Mental Health Helpline The recent COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unprecedented challenges to all countries across the world. The difference in magnitude of infected cases and mortality reflects the capacity, preparedness and political commitment of different countries. The pandemic has...

Mental health helpline for people affected by COVID-19 pandemic

June 16, 2020

Mental Health Helpline The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unprecedented challenges to all countries across the world. The difference in magnitude of infected cases and mortality reflects the capacity, preparedness and political commitment of different countries. The pandemic has also...

Jammu and Kashmir: Pre-existing mental health needs, Kashmir and COVID-19

May 8, 2020

Ajaz Ahmad Sofi, Clinical Psychologist at MSF mental health care project in Jammu and Kashmir writes how our teams are working to meet a huge need for psychological support in the valley. "Complaints related to mental health are not new...