Deputy Mayor Olena Paramonova and leader of the MH4U project “Mental Health for Ukraine” Haiko Königstein have signed a memorandum of cooperation. The goal is to improve the quality and accessibility of services in the field of mental health, increase public awareness of mental health issues.
The working meeting was attended by the secretary of the city council Ksenia Sukhova, the director of the health department Andriy Rempel and the deputy director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine Priska Depnering.
‘Mariupol pays great attention to the areas of mental health care. But infrastructure projects are not enough, so it is also important for us to create social areas, for example, the Benevolent Medicine program. Cooperation with MH4U is another step towards creating effective conditions for helping people who need psychological help,’ Olena Paramonova said.
MH4U is a four-year project (from 2019 to 2023), which aims to improve the quality and availability of care and psychosocial support for people with mental disorders in Ukraine. The project is being implemented with the support of Switzerland, provided through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
‘We always prioritize projects aimed at improving the quality of life of Mariupol residents. Participation in projects is a challenge for us. However, this is very important for the present, which is influenced by a lot of stress. We are ready to cooperate, and we are ready to build a system that has comprehensive approaches to help a person and prevent serious complications,’ Ksenia Sukhova emphasized.
According to statistics, over 17,000 residents of Mariupol receive psychological assistance over the course of a year. More than 60 thousand need it, but do not turn to specialists. The MH4U project includes training of Mariupol specialists, educational campaigns and implementation of a separate program in cooperation with the city municipality.
‘The City Council provided comprehensive support. For about a year, we worked with a group of representatives from all spheres - health, social services, education, and also studied the online service delivery system. Our goal is to develop the willingness of people to receive psychological services,’ Heiko Königstein said.
He also noted that the private sector of providing psychological services is well developed in Mariupol. There are special services for children, adolescents and certain categories of the population. Public organizations are actively working.
