European Public Health Week is being held in Ukraine from May 4 to 8
European Public Health Week is taking place in Ukraine from May 4 to 8. This pan-European initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of mental and physical health in our daily lives. The main theme of the week is “Investing in Sustainable Health and Well-being.”
To mark European Public Health Week, staff from the Health Promotion Department of the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» published a post on Springer Nature Research Communities titled “Listening to Parents and Communities on Schoolchildren’s Mental Health During Wartime in Ukraine.”
For us, this study is directly linked to the message of European Public Health Week 2026: sustainable health and well-being require investment not only in services but also in the pathways that allow people to access them. For children growing up during wartime, psychosocial support must be more than just a set of interventions. It must become a reliable pathway from recognition to assistance, from school to community, and from primary care to specialized support when necessary.
We also know that the consequences of war will not end when the fighting stops. As doctors, psychologists, and health researchers, we see the price people pay just to wake up, have a cup of coffee, take a child to school, go to work, and carry on. This price can be paid for many years.
That is why we continue our research: not just to tally symptoms, services, or percentages, but to understand how families are adapting, where support is reaching them, where it is falling short, and what Ukraine will need to recover.
A child’s mental health depends not only on the child themselves. It also depends on the adults who notice, the systems that respond, the communities that support, and the pathways that make help possible.
For more information, visit:
(date of publication on the website: 04.05.2026)