{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T07:59:45Z","timestamp":1790236785271,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790208000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":266,"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/terms"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Disaster med. public health prep."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has triggered a severe but under-recognized mental health crisis. Nearly two-thirds of hospitals in conflict-affected regions are non-functional, supply chains have collapsed, and fewer than 100 psychiatrists serve a population of 45 million. Emerging evidence documents rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among displaced and non-displaced civilians, children, and health workers, yet mental health remains systematically neglected in humanitarian response. This commentary examines the gap between global commitments\u2014including the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO\u2019s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP)\u2014and the realities of care in conflict settings. Drawing on lessons from Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine, we outline a 6-priority framework for immediate mental health integration: (1) training lay health workers for task-shifted psychological support; (2) rebuilding essential psychiatric infrastructure; (3) establishing protected humanitarian corridors for psychotropic medications; (4) expanding tele-psychiatry and remote counselling; (5) integrating mental health into primary and emergency care; and (6) addressing stigma through community engagement. We argue that without explicit funding allocations and operational mandates for mental health services, post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding in Sudan will remain compromised. We call on donors to allocate at least 10% of health-related humanitarian aid to mental health initiatives and for WHO and UNICEF to embed mhGAP in all emergency responses. Sudan represents both an urgent crisis and a global warning: mental health can no longer remain the invisible dimension of humanitarian emergencies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/dmp.2026.10442","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T07:13:06Z","timestamp":1790233986000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sudan\u2019s Silent Mental Health Crisis: A Systemic Failure of Humanitarian Response"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-8587-7168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javeria","family":"Akhter","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04amwz106","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Indus Hospital & Health Network"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6516-4052","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Nouman","family":"Javed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04hbpw172","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Punjab Medical College"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Komal Iqbal","family":"Kahut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04amwz106","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Indus Hospital & Health Network"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"S193578932610442X_r17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/gmh.2022.19"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13031-024-00627-z"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20255"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13033-025-00667-9"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-025-02542-1"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(11)61094-5"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r4","unstructured":"4. Humanitarian Practice Network. Invisible Scars: Mental Health Programming Is Crucial in Humanitarian Response . Published August 13, 2025. Accessed May 11, 2025. Humanitarian Practice Network Article. https:\/\/odihpn.org\/en\/publication\/invisible-scars-mental-health-programming-is-crucial-in-humanitarian-response\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s44192-025-00207-4"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0169384"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r3","unstructured":"3. World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Sudan surpasses 100 attacks on healthcare since 2023 armed conflict began. Published 2024. Accessed May 11, 2025. WHO EMRO Report. https:\/\/www.emro.who.int\/media\/news\/sudan-surpasses-100-attacks-on-healthcare-since-2023-armed-conflict-began.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13033-019-0320-9"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r15","unstructured":"15. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Sudan Humanitarian Update (January\u2013February 2026). Published March 2026. Accessed August 31, 2026. https:\/\/www.unocha.org\/publications\/report\/sudan\/sudan-humanitarian-update-january-february-2026"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13031-022-00493-7"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13031-025-00695-9"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1357633X14527709"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13033-016-0046-x"},{"key":"S193578932610442X_r8","unstructured":"8. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026\u2014Summary. Published March 2026. Accessed August 31, 2026. https:\/\/www.unocha.org\/publications\/report\/sudan\/sudan-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2026-summary"}],"container-title":["Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S193578932610442X","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T07:13:09Z","timestamp":1790233989000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S193578932610442X\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"references-count":17,"alternative-id":["S193578932610442X"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/dmp.2026.10442","relation":{},"ISSN":["1935-7893","1938-744X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1935-7893","type":"print"},{"value":"1938-744X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"article-number":"e161"}}