Humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters and conflict, despite their tragic nature and adverse effects on mental health, offer unparalleled platforms for change. They are an obligation and opportunity for countries to invest in mental health.  

A surge of national and international aid, combined with sudden, focused attention on people’s mental health, can galvanize political support and action and create opportunities for developing better care systems for the long term. During and after emergencies, we support countries to build back better, for example Lebanon and Ukraine. 

In 2013, WHO published Building back better, documenting lessons learned from ten global successes in using emergencies as an entry point to strengthen mental health systems. With partners, WHO is collating new case studies to further illustrate how recent crises have been pivotal moments for enhancing mental health care and policy.