Medecins Sans Frontieres has resumed some of its operations in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, nearly a month after the relief group suspended its mental health program in the region due to increasing violence and round-the-clock curfews.
>> Violence Halts MSF Mental Health Activities in Indian Region
MSF counselors have restarted visiting patients in hospitals in Srinagar. They are offering on-the-spot psychological assistance to victims of violence and their families.
“We’re dealing with a population already heavily traumatized by more than two decades of violence, and today people are continuing to suffer psychologically,” said Maria Veerart, MSF’s mental health officer in Kashmir. “MSF is extremely concerned that the recent violence will only further increase mental health needs in the Kashmir Valley.”
MSF’s mental health program treated more than 5,800 people in 2009.
