Fahmy Hanna

Dr Fahmy Hanna is a psychiatrist with nearly 20 years of experience advancing mental health systems and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), particularly in the context of complex emergencies across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Based at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in Geneva, he has supported MHPSS preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in more than 30 countries affected by conflict, disasters, public health emergencies, and displacement, including Syria, Yemen, Türkiye, South Sudan, Nigeria, Libya, Liberia, Lebanon, Honduras, Chad, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

From 2017 to 2025, Dr. Hanna represented WHO as Co-Chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, leading efforts to strengthen global interagency coordination and contribute to the development of international guidance, policy, and operational tools, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has undertaken extensive field missions, providing direct technical support to governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and national partners on MHPSS system strengthening, service integration, coordination, and workforce capacity development.

His work focuses on closing gaps in access to quality mental health care in humanitarian settings, strengthening sustainable national systems, and advancing multisectoral approaches that place local actors at the centre of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. He is particularly committed to translating global guidance into practical action that improves the lives of people affected by crises.

In June 2026, Dr. Hanna is leading the design and implementation of a large-scale, field-based, multisectoral simulation exercise in Thailand in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and a wide range of national and international partners. The exercise is the first of its kind in Asia and builds on a series of successful simulation exercises previously coordinated by him in Ethiopia, Türkiye, Estonia, and Tunisia, aimed at strengthening preparedness, coordination, and operational readiness for mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies.