PAWPA launches mental health platform for victims of wars

By Maria Weldali - Apr 30,2024 - Last updated at Apr 30,2024

HRH Prince Hassan on Monday attends the Pan Arab Women Physicians Association’s launch of the ‘Mental Health Platform’ for victims of wars and conflicts (Photo by Maria Weldali)

AMMAN — Under the patronage of HRH Prince Hassan, the Pan Arab Women Physicians Association (PAWPA) launched on Monday the “Mental Health Platform” for victims of wars and conflicts.

During the launch ceremony, Prince Hassan emphasised the importance of humanising data and connecting statistics with people, pointing to the need for a national mobilisation to address human issues in all settings.

Prince Hassan also affirmed that anyone who is capable of providing psychological counselling should not hesitate in being part of carrying the common humanitarian concerns .

For her part, PAWPA President and Founder, Maisam Akroush, said: “Our efforts have been focusing on preparing medical teams that provide psychological counselling and internal medicine services, in addition to family medicine specialists.”

Acting as volunteers, the medical teams and specialists provide their services and support to every person needing mental health services throughout the Arab world and starting from Gaza which is in dire need of urgent medical intervention in many different respects.

The platform enables the management of the patient’s personal profile and therapy sessions, ensuring a comprehensive security system that encompasses measures taken to protect the patient’s privacy.

Former minister of health, Saad Kharabsheh, gave a brief on the highlights of a 2010 study on the reality of psychological health services in Jordan. He said that among the main challenges was the fact that little priority was given to mental health services, accounting by for only 1 per cent and total government expenditure on health.

“Unfortunately, the majority of challenges presented by the 2010 study are still persistent,” according to Kharabsheh, who noted that the dispersal of psychological health services are based almost exclusively in big cities.

Additionally, the ceremony saw the results of a recent study titled “The Unseen Repercussions of War: Indirect Psychological Effects on Jordanians during the Israeli-Palestinian War” which reflected some of the direct and indirect effects of the ongoing Gaza war on the people in Jordan, in addition to showing the prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety.

Rate