World Mental Health Day - EU-funded projects strengthening mental health support for displaced Ukrainians and vulnerable groups across Europe

10 October marks World Mental Health Day. With this year’s theme being focused on mental health in humanitarian emergencies, we look at the European Commission’s swift action to address the mental health needs of Ukrainian people displaced by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.  

In 2022, four projects were selected for funding under the EU4Health programme to deliver targeted psychological support and community-based interventions across ten EU Member States: MESUR, U-RISE, Well-U, and Peace of Mind. 

With a total EU contribution of €3 million, these projects have provided mental health and psychosocial support to more than 5,000 displaced Ukrainians, including 2,000 children and 3,000 professionals. Activities have included direct psychological interventions, training for health and social care workers, and digital support tools aimed at building long-term resilience and capacity building. The online network ‘community of practice’ for 7,000 professionals in Ukrainian language based in the EU and in Ukraine is still developing.  

These projects have worked closely with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), ensuring complementarity, sharing best practices and organising joint activities such as trainings and webinars.  

Building on their findings, the projects have presented a series of recommendations aimed at enhancing the integration and effectiveness of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) systems across Europe. These include: 

1. Integrating MHPSS into national healthcare and education frameworks to reinforce crisis preparedness and ensure systemic support.
2. Strengthening collaboration between governments and stakeholders by establishing supervision and peer-support structures for MHPSS providers, alongside evaluation tools to monitor training effectiveness and workload impact.
3. Standardising training for healthcare professionals, social workers, and educators in trauma-informed care, psychological first aid and crisis intervention, using evidence-based models such as WHO’s Problem Management Plus (PM+) and Self-Help Plus (SH+).
4. Expanding training-of-trainers (ToT) and initiatives for lay professional across multiple sectors.
5. Enhancing synergies between EU-funded projects to amplify impact, ensure sustainability, and share best practices across EU countries. 

To further enhance these achievements, a new Joint Action has recently been launched. With a total budget of €6 million, JA PRISM will work to alleviate the burden of mental health illnesses with specific vulnerable groups, including migrants and refugees. The JA brings together 18 EU countries and two associated countries (Moldova and Bosnia Herzegovina), aiming to share, adapt and pilot three best practices supporting mental health promotion, suicide prevention and enhancing well-being, thus fighting loneliness and stigmatisation. 

Relevant links 

European Mental Health Week 2025: Discover EU-funded projects safeguarding mental health for all 

World Mental Health Day 2024: EU4Health projects WELL-U and ImpleMENTAL 

Mental health support during crises: Lessons from the Red Cross response to the conflict in Ukraine 

Background 

EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and calls for tenders from 2021 to 2027.