*Content note: The blog post this email links to includes mention of suicidal thoughts.
Please take care while reading.

War and displacement leave scars, Friend. Not all of them are physical. 

Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder are all frighteningly common in many places Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works. These mental health conditions can be just as debilitating, and are just as important to treat, as any physical wound.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to give you an update on how kind MSF supporters like you help make treatment like this possible, all around the world. Take Hajjah—a city in the northwest of Yemen where we run a mental health clinic in Al-Gamhouri hospital.



War remains ongoing in Hajjah. People there have endured high levels of violence for a long time. Because of the conflict, people only seek mental health care if their issues are obvious and disruptive to them or their loved ones. And if they delay seeking the vital mental health care they need, this wait can exacerbate their symptoms. 

Forty-five percent of the patients we see in the MSF mental health clinic have severe mental health symptoms. According to the World Health Organization, this is almost eight times higher than what would usually be expected, even in conflict zones. 

The physical burdens of a life trying to survive amidst violent conflict are clear to see. But the mental health challenges are equally real.

As an independent, impartial organization, we depend on the generosity of our donors to help us continue our important work. Your support helps make it possible for us to treat people in crisis in more than 70 countries.