Invisible Front Line: Renewal does not only need buildings but also souls

The author is a member of the European Parliament for Progressive Slovakia. A member of the Public Health Committee

Just before getting off the train, I drank tea. I was nervous. The day before our arrival hit Ukraine A rocket attack on amounts in which more than three dozen civilians, including children, died. Exactly the attack that our Prime Minister could not condemn because he apparently does not have enough information.

I traveled to Ukraine just before Easter as a member of the mission of the European Parliamentary Committee on Public Health. In Kiev we visited the National Children’s Hospital, met with the President of Parliament, members of the Health Committee of the Verch Council and with experts from the World Health Organization and other organizations that are involved in health.

We experienced one missile alarm on the train. When I arrived in Kiev I stopped counting them. My colleagues and I have been aware of the subconscious tensions from the war for two days, but the Ukrainians and Ukrainians have been living on this invisible front line for more than three years.

This cannot leave the consequences.

Price trauma

I consider myself a relatively durable person. In the Children’s Hospital Ochmatdyt, which The Russians bombed last yearBut I couldn’t help tears. Many departments have started to operate a few weeks after the attack, but children in the cancer department still lie in rooms without windows. The staff regularly moves them to have at least part of the week of daylight.

I stood there. I didn’t understand how someone could shoot a rocket at a children’s hospital. For sick children! Unimaginable.

At the same time, I felt admiration for people who continue to work in these conditions and especially help. People in Ukraine go on. They work, care for others, trying to live normally. But the body remembers. And the soul too. Over time, suppressed trauma can deepen and transform into serious mental problems.

The trauma is huge. From the beginning of the Russian invasion by the end of March 2024 counted the office The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights almost 44,000 civilian victims. More than a third of the population had to leave their homes. Nine out of ten The Ukrainians feel anxiety and stress from the war. More than half are at risk of developing more serious and long -term mental illnesses, such as post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This disease has been affected already a quarter of the Ukrainians.

In seeking assistance, they are prevented by stigma, lack of information and limited resources. Only a small part of those who need it receives psychological support. Just imagine how difficult it is to ensure available care of mental health even in peace -living countries, not where the war rages.

PTSD and anxiety disorders have extensive social and economic consequences that go beyond individual suffering and affect society as a whole. It is not just about health care costs. They bring lower labor productivity, higher unemployment and other social costs.

It is also difficult to turn to children and young people. Many stop going to school, later they cannot find a job and will have lower income all their lives.

We do not have accurate data in the case of Ukraine yet, but to illustrate Available data from the United States. The costs associated with PTSD were there to $ 232 billion a year. From treatment to reducing working productivity to premature death.

The EU counts on Ukraine as a close partner and future Member State. However, the reconstruction of the country after the war will not do without investing in mental health. According to an older study At the same time, every dollar invested in mental health can bring up to four times the return.

The EU has the opportunity

As soon as I returned to Brussels, I turned to the European Commission management. The government Donald Trump Indeed, it was significantly chopped by USAID financing and also announced a departure from the World Health Organization. This money will also be missing in the help of the Ukrainian population with his mental health.

Americans are putting hands away, Europe must replace this outage, so I wrote to the Commission, together with Valérie Hayer, chairman of our faction to renew Europe.

There is a European aid mechanism called the tool for Ukraine. The interest of frozen Russian assets is financed by the country’s renewal. We propose that part of it also go to psychological assistance, rehabilitation and development of medical infrastructure. To put it simply: there is no need to restore not only buildings, but also human souls.

We consider it important to strengthen the EU4HEALTH program and to allocate more funds for organizations that help people to manage the consequences of war. One of the examples is Project How are you?that initiated the first lady of Olena Greeny. It helps to improve access to psychological support, training training and stigma degradation.

The EU has tools in his hands. What we need is the political will to use them to the fullest. Mental health is not a marginal theme, but a key prerequisite for the renewal, durability and future stability of Ukraine.

Bricks a Malta They can rebuild buildings and cities, but to heal the wounds on the invisible front line and the restoration of the real quality of life will need a permanent European effort aimed at mental health.