News Flash 624: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Salema (Sarpa salpa)

News Flash 624

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

World Blood Donor Day 2025

BRICS (+) and the future of global health: Building materials in a multipolar world

Mistrust, Trump and Multilateralism: Key Ingredients of the Pandemic Agreement ‘Recipe’

Transfer of technology and know-how for the production of pandemic-related health products in the WHO Pandemic Agreement: The proverbial half glass

MSF welcomes Novo Nordisk’s commitment to supply South Africa with analogue insulin pens, but the price must come down to $1 per pen

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at a Crossroads

COVID Critics Dominate New US Vaccine Advisory Committee

Yellow Fever ‘Spillover’ from Animals in Amazon Basin is Fueling Cases in the Americas

Serum Institute of India signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DNDi to advance the development of a new treatment for dengue in low- and middle-income countries

Children with hepatitis B virus infections, Democratic Republic of the Congo

First vaccine against swine dysentery disease recommended for approval

Drones Take on Malaria by Hitting Breeding Sites

Testing indoor residual spraying coverage targets for malaria control, Bioko, Equatorial Guinea

WHO issues first global guideline to improve pregnancy care for women with sickle cell disease

‘Gardeningʼ in the Gut: Tackling Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria With Vaccines and Friendly Bacteria

Takeaways from Implementing a Parent-Adolescent Intervention Targeting Early Marriage in Bangladesh

Self-report and proxy reports in survey data on female genital mutilation, Senegal

WHO calls for global expansion of midwifery models of care

How to centre mental health in displacement

UN: $29 billion appeal unveiled amid “cruel math” of brutal funding cuts

Accelerating Refugee Inclusion Amidst Devastating Aid Cuts

UNPO and University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy Collaborate on Grassroots Movements in a Fragmented World

Weaponizing Food Worsens Starvation

IRRI launches new 5-Year Strategy to drive sustainability in rice-based agri-food systems

Bonn Bulletin: Climate talks delayed by agenda fight

Navigating the COP29 climate finance outcome: pathways for SIDS and LDCs

Taming the High Seas: UN Ocean Treaty Nears Entry Into Force

World Unites to Save the Ocean But Will Promises Hold Water?

Ocean crisis demands a new kind of science

Tanzania Champions Aquatic Foods at UN Ocean Conference in Nice

News Flash 623: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Brown meagre (Sciaena umbra)

News Flash 623

Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

Now is the time to rebuild the global economic system

AUDA-NEPAD Invitation for Comments to the Draft Continental Regulatory Reliance Framework

WHO Advocates for ‘Sin Taxes’ to Offset Aid Cuts, as Trump Submits Rescission Proposal to US Congress

A Million Lives at Risk?

Congress Can Stop The Trump Administration’s Assault On Children

USAID’s Role in Global Health Supply Chain Programs and Implications of Aid Cuts: A Rapid Review

Funding cuts force new thinking for world’s largest refugee camp

EMA’s annual report 2024

Priorities for a New FDA

WHO: Fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox 2024 – Temporary recommendations

New WHO Recommendations to Protect Infants from RSV

Motsoaledi’s big HIV treatment jump: Is it true?

Building models, building capacity: A review of participatory machine learning for HIV prevention

Global burden of chikungunya virus infections and the potential benefit of vaccination campaigns

Thailand: “Ever-greening” patents – the case of TB drug Bedaquiline

Bedaquiline Activity against Leprosy

The Unseen Fallout of War: Rising Antimicrobial Resistance

Global health and hope: African countries unite to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis

Mental Health in Crisis Zones: A Personal Look at Hidden Wounds by Rasha Almashhra

MSF report reveals stark lack of protection and assistance in South Darfur, Sudan

UNPO Applauds MOSOP’s Peaceful Stance and Urges Dialogue Over Ogoni’s Land Oil Dispute

MPP participation at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting

Global land grab highlights growing inequality

Malnutrition’s Long Shadow Puts Children at Risk Today and in the Future

WHO: CBDR central to climate and health action plan; Germany and U.K. dissociate

Commission adopts Ocean Pact to protect marine life and strengthen blue economy

EU Commission: Water resilience strategy

Namibia’s green hydrogen scheme grows veg in the desert

Pacific Ocean life at risk from noisy deep-sea mining

Nia Tero: Indigenous Guardianship the ‘Only Time-Tested Approach’ To Healthy Ocean Ecosystems

Mental Health in Crisis Zones: A Personal Look at Hidden Wounds

IN A NUTSHELL
Editor's Note  "What we need is not just more funding, but a deeper understanding: mental health is not a luxury. It is an indispensable foundation. Without it, children cannot learn, adults cannot function, and communities cannot heal" 

First-hand reflections here where the Author draws from her field of experience in mental health and psychosocial support in conflict-affected settings

By Rasha Almashhra

Specialist in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Damascus, Syria

Mental Health in Crisis Zones

A Personal Look at Hidden Wounds

In conflict-affected settings, mental health is often overlooked in the most critical aspects of humanitarian response. We talk about food, water, and shelter, but the silent wounds left by war, displacement, and loss are rarely addressed with the same urgency.

With my long experience in mental health and psychosocial support, I have witnessed firsthand how unaddressed trauma can quietly undermine entire communities.
In Syria, as in so many conflict zones, people are trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of their homes, not just in the ruins of trust, safety, and meaning. Children draw pictures of tanks instead of trees. Mothers silently grieve for the children they have lost, while trying to stay strong for those who are still alive. Teenagers withdraw into silence. Men carry the burden of broken livelihoods with a steadfastness that only cracks behind closed doors.

But through it all, I have seen resilience. I’ve seen women create safe spaces in devastated schools, sharing stories and laughter. I’ve facilitated emotional support groups where strangers become allies in healing. I’ve worked with frontline workers: teachers, nurses, and volunteers who serve others while carrying their own hidden burdens.

Sadly, stigma remains a major barrier. Many still equate seeking mental health support with vulnerability or instability. The lack of culturally appropriate services and trained professionals exacerbates this. Yet, simple interventions like creating safe spaces to talk, integrating psychosocial support into schools and health centers, or simply listening without judgment can make a huge difference.

What we need is not just more funding, but a deeper understanding: mental health is not a luxury. It is an indispensable foundation. Without it, children cannot learn, adults cannot function, and communities cannot heal.

Mental health should be viewed as part of a “One Health” approach that addresses physical well-being, environmental conditions, and social structures. While the world rightly focuses on equitable access to medicine and healthcare, let’s not forget that healing the mind is just as important as healing the body.

News Flash 622: Weekly Snapshot of Public Health Challenges

News Flash Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings