Karazin University Joins the Memorandum on Integrating the WHO mhGAP Programme into Higher Medical Education in Ukraine

A Memorandum on the integration of the World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) into Ukraine’s higher medical education was signed. The participants included the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the World Health Organization, and 18 Ukrainian universities, among them V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The document was signed on behalf of Karazin University by Anatolii Babichev, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.

The WHO mhGAP Programme aims to integrate mental health services into the primary health care system. Its goal is to improve the accessibility, quality, and comprehensiveness of care for people with mental disorders, particularly at the level of primary care physicians.

The integration of mhGAP into higher medical education marks an important step in the cooperation between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, WHO, and Ukrainian universities. More than 360 educators have already completed training, and standardized academic curricula have been developed, based on which the educational process will soon begin.

The signing of the Memorandum will promote the sustainable development of training future specialists according to international standards in the field of mental health, ensure a competence-based approach to education, and contribute to the implementation of state policy on Ukraine’s path toward European integration.