Mental Health in Ukraine: the Invisible Emergency

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) opens its headquarters’ doors for a screening and discussion organized in partnership with the FIFDH.

In Ukraine, millions of women, men and children have been living with the war and its psychological repercussions for almost three years. Abroad, more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees are confronted with potential traumas. How to deal with this invisible emergency and draw attention to it?

Film

Ukraine, February 2022, Niki, aged 12, and his family are forced to flee their home and take shelter in the underground train stations of Kharkiv to escape the war. Under the glare of the neon lights, Photophobia portrays from a child’s point of view, the daily lives of the many people confined to metro stations during the war. This poetic film blends documentary and fiction to create a genuine cinematic experience.

Youth Documentary Jury Prize at FIFDH 2024

Discussion 

Almost three years after the start of the war in Ukraine, focus on one of the less visible consequences of the conflict: the mental health of the civilian population. What are the psychological consequences of such a large-scale crisis and how can they be dealt with, both in the country itself and among the refugees abroad?

Discussion in English with:

• Bernadette Schober, MSF programme manager in Ukraine
• Anastasiia Avazashvili, psychotherapist at CTAS (Centre de consultation spécialisé dans le traitement des séquelles d’agressions sexuelles et d’autres traumatismes) and member of the association Ukraine Reborn, supporting Ukrainian asylum seekers
• Nadiia Olarean, co-founder and President of the association Ukraine Reborn, supporting Ukrainian asylum seekers

Free entrance, upon inscription here.