"The mental and physical health of war invalids is a matter close to our hearts. We want to create motivation by showing perspectives," says Regional President EEMEA Tim Schäfer as he reports from the Ukrainian-German Conference on Mental Health, Psychosocial Support and Rehabilitation. At the beginning of February, around 200 invited guests from politics, business and science gathered at the BG Trauma Hospital in Berlin.

In addition to numerous organizations such as Charité, Superhumans, Unbroken, German Society for International Cooperation and Malteser International, Ottobock represented the MedTech industry at a workshop and a symposium.

Dialogue platform for holistic rehabilitation

The war in Ukraine is leaving countless people not only injured physically, but increasingly also psychologically. In preparation for the Recovery Conference Ukraine, which will be hosted by the German government in June, the two-day health conference was held on the initiative of the BG Hospitals and Charité. It was an optimal platform for dialogue concerning holistic rehabilitation of war invalids in Ukraine.

The patrons were Elke Büdenbender, wife of the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska. Their common goal: "We want to win the battle against pain. The weapon in this fight is the daily care of mental health."

The official welcome by Prof. Dr. med. Axel Ekkernkamp, Managing Director of the BG Trauma Hospital, was followed by a varied congress program of German and Ukrainian representatives from the healthcare industry. On the first day of the conference, the focus was on mental health and rehabilitation workshops. Under the title "Prosthetics: Back to life!" Tim Schäfer exchanged ideas with representatives from the healthcare sector. The focus was on shaping the medical and political framework to reintegrate as many amputees as possible into society.

The second day of the conference was opened with a speech by the German Health Minister, Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach. In order to further advance the political discourse for the mental health of war invalids, he signed a declaration together with the Ukrainian Minister of Health, Dr. Viktor Liashko, on the expansion of cooperation in the healthcare sector.

"We are delighted to be part of this great dialogue platform. Only with our solidarity and close exchange with Ukraine can we help those affected and make a contribution to their psychosocial health," explained Tim Schäfer and Oliver Jakobi.

Here you can review the Ukrainian-German Conference on Mental Health, Psychosocial Support and Rehabilitation: Live: Ukrainian-German Conference on Mental Health, Psychosocial Support and Rehabilitation (youtube.com)