Mental health remains a critical yet under-integrated component of health systems, particularly for women in fragile and crisis-affected settings. Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), and other fragile and crisis-affected contexts, ongoing conflict, displacement, and economic instability continue to limit access to care and widen the gap between need and service delivery.

To explore these challenges, EMPHNET hosted the 52nd session of its WEBi Series, titled “Women’s Mental Health: Addressing Challenges, Integrating Services, and Fostering Resilience,” on March 31, 2026.

The webinar brought together regional and global experts to examine how mental health can be integrated into reproductive and primary healthcare systems, while grounding the discussion in the realities of fragile contexts. The session engaged 214 participants and sparked a dynamic and interactive exchange.

Opening Remarks

Moderated by Dr. Randa Saad, Senior Technical Specialist at EMPHNET, the session opened by framing women’s mental health as a cross-cutting priority, one that influences not only individual well-being, but also broader social stability, and community resilience. She emphasized the urgent need to move beyond conceptual discussions toward practical, system-based solutions that can be implemented at scale.

Lessons from Humanitarian Settings

Drawing on programmatic experience across Sudan, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, Dr. Rania Abdalla Abuelhassan, Director of Member Associations Support and Development at IPPF Arab World Regional Office, highlighted the profound impact of overlapping crises on women’s mental health across the region. She described a context marked by conflict, displacement, economic collapse, and shrinking protection systems, where millions of women and girls face compounded vulnerabilities, including exposure to gender-based violence, harmful practices, and limited access to essential health services. These realities are further exacerbated by the destruction of health infrastructure, shortages in the workforce and supplies, and reduced access to maternal and protection services.

Building on these challenges, she emphasized that effective responses must move beyond standalone mental health interventions toward integrated, community-based, and survivor-centered approaches.

Mental health, she noted, is deeply interconnected with reproductive health and protection services, requiring integration within platforms such as GBV response and primary healthcare. She highlighted the importance of tailoring interventions for vulnerable groups—particularly adolescent girls—and of leveraging community-based delivery models, including non-specialist providers, to improve access and reduce stigma. Ultimately, she underscored that successful interventions in crisis settings must address both immediate protection needs and longer-term resilience, ensuring continuity of care even as crises evolve.

From Fragmentation to Integration

Dr. Maysa Nemer, Head of the Environmental and Occupational Health Unit at Birzeit University in Palestine, focused on the structural disconnect between reproductive health and mental health services, highlighting how this fragmentation continues to undermine care for women across the life course.

She noted that while women frequently access services through reproductive health platforms, mental health support remains separate, resulting in critical gaps in screening, referral, and follow-up. This fragmentation is reinforced by broader system challenges, including weak referral pathways, inconsistent screening practices, workforce capacity gaps, and limited integration within health information systems. She emphasized that addressing this gap requires a shift from isolated interventions to comprehensive system redesign, grounded in primary healthcare as the most practical entry point for integration.

Drawing on examples from fragile settings, she outlined key pillars for integration, including standardized screening, task-sharing approaches, strengthened referral systems, and supportive governance frameworks. She also highlighted practical entry points such as integrating mental health screening into antenatal care, embedding indicators within health information systems, and strengthening provider training. Ultimately, she underscored that effective integration must be adaptive, gender-responsive, and embedded within broader health system structures.

Systems and Workforce Approaches

Bringing a continental and systems-level perspective, Mr. Dumsani Njobo Mamba, Mental Health Technical Officer at Africa CDC, highlighted the scale and structural nature of women’s mental health challenges across Africa.

He noted that approximately one in five women experiences mental health conditions, yet fewer than 10% receive appropriate care, underscoring significant gaps in access, workforce capacity, and service delivery. These challenges are further compounded by stigma, cultural perceptions, and limited policy prioritization, all of which continue to restrict care-seeking and hinder effective response.

He emphasized that addressing these gaps requires a coordinated, systems-based approach. Africa CDC is advancing efforts to integrate mental health into primary healthcare, strengthen workforce capacity, and support the development of national policies and legislation that prioritize mental health. In parallel, he highlighted the importance of community engagement and culturally responsive approaches, as well as ongoing work to embed mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) within emergency preparedness and response systems, ensuring that mental health is positioned as a core component of health security and crisis response.

Audience Discussion

The discussion focused on implementation challenges, particularly workforce capacity, integration in fragile settings, and service delivery in crisis contexts. Discussions highlighted gaps in training and emphasized the need to integrate mental health into pre-service education for healthcare providers.

Questions also addressed how integration can be implemented in disrupted health systems and how mental health is prioritized alongside immediate survival needs in emergencies. Additional points focused on referral pathways, particularly for postpartum depression, and the need for practical examples from similar contexts.

Key Takeaways

The session highlighted several key messages:

• Mental health must be integrated within reproductive health, primary healthcare, and protection services, rather than delivered as standalone interventions
• Primary healthcare serves as the most feasible and scalable entry point for integration, particularly in fragile settings
• Fragmentation of services is a systemic issue, requiring coordinated action across governance, workforce, financing, and health information systems
• Community-based and task-sharing approaches are essential to expand access in resource-constrained and crisis contexts
• Workforce capacity, referral accountability, and standardized screening remain critical gaps
• Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) should be embedded within emergency preparedness and response systems
• Programs must be context-adapted, gender-responsive, and grounded in the realities of crisis-affected populations, addressing both immediate needs and long-term resilience

The session reaffirmed the need to move beyond awareness toward practical, integrated approaches that can be implemented across diverse contexts in the region.

Watch the webinar here.

Explore more sessions from the EMPHNET WEBi Series here.