THE INVISIBLE SCARS OF WAR

The ongoing conflict with Russia has left 10 million Ukrainians affected by mental health conditions. Now, a community-led program is giving citizens the tools they need to help them overcome their trauma

- ELLIE COOK

THE PHYSICAL SCARS OF RUSSIA'S 2022 INVAsion of Ukraine are often laid out in painstaking detail the blood, the gore, the shattered towns and the leveled buildings are plain to see. Less clear at first sight, however, is the mental burden the ongoing war has caused for many Ukrainians, both within the borders of the battle-scarred country and elsewhere across the globe. Nearly 10 million Ukrainians are thought to be at risk of, or are living with, a mental health condition in the country, the World Health Organization evaluated in March 2024.

"A fast-growing need for mental health and psychosocial support services has called for a strong response and innovative solutions from health authorities," the WHO said.

One team, steered by Israeli trauma expert Professor Mooli Lahad, is hoping to be part of the answer to this increasing demand for support for people struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and the lasting effects of war.

Lahad is at the helm of a program designed to hand ordinary citizens the tools to equip Ukrainians uprooted from their lives with ways to cope. He hopes a little bit of training can go a long way to assisting swathes of people affected by trauma when there are so few, fully qualified professionals available to help.

"We believe that what we teach is transferable," Lahad told Newsweek, adding that his program is crafted so that knowledge can be passed down from trainers to trainees, who then take up the baton to share their newly acquired knowledge to others.

Stories of Escape

ONE PRONG OF THE EFFORT IS BASED OUT OF POLAND, pulled together with the local branch of the nonprofit European Leadership Network. Poland opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees in early 2022, and nearly one million had fled there by the end of 2023.