Kristen Lundquist is the Program Director for The Center for Women, Faith & Leadership at the Institute for Global Engagement, and advises IGE’s The Cradle Fund on efforts to aid traumatized women and children. Kristen blogs regularly at www.godpeoplelove.com.
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The Middle East’s Mental Health Crisis
Brain illustration, Maxim Gaigul / Shutterstock.com
National Minority Mental Health Awareness month is upon us in the U.S., and never has the scope and impact of mental health issues threatened to affect the long-term security of our country and world than now.
This year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 10.8 million people are affected by the conflict in Syria, with 4 million refugees having fled the country. This is the largest refugee population coming out of any one conflict in over a generation. Similarly, in early 2015, UNHCR estimated that the total population of concern, due to the conflict in Iraq, exceeded 3 million people. Millions of people have experienced the unimaginable trauma of political and religious conflict and persecution in the Middle East, especially women, whom the Iraqi Ministry of Health determined were disproportionately affected by mental health illness due to the recent conflict. The scale and depth of the trauma demands a multi-faith, multi-sector, multi-discipline response, before it is too late.