The healing power of art is the focus of a new national campaign in Ukraine, launched by WHO/Europe and partners, including the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and Art Therapy Force. Healing Arts Ukraine will bring arts-based approaches to support Ukraine’s health system and strengthen resilience in the face of conflict. Amid ongoing war, Ukraine continues to face immense health and humanitarian challenges, yet alongside these hardships, stories of resilience are emerging, many driven by the transformative role of arts and culture in healing and recovery. It is these stories of resilience and transformation that the new campaign seeks to bring to life.
Launched at a roundtable event held at the British House of Commons on 9 March 2026 titled “Healing Arts in Times of War”, the campaign focuses on the intersection between the culture and arts sector and the health sector.
Creative practices as tools for health
“The Healing Arts Ukraine campaign demonstrates how arts and culture can play a vibrant and practical role in supporting health and well-being in conflict settings,” explained Dr Nils Fietje, Technical Officer for Culture and Health at WHO/Europe.
“Crucially, it also shows how these evidence-based approaches can be applied beyond crisis contexts to address wider health challenges and strengthen more people-centred systems.”
The round table marked the international launch of the campaign, which will see WHO/Europe and partners working together to spotlight creative practices as accessible, evidence-based and scalable tools for health, well-being and recovery.
Grounded in frontline experience from Ukraine, the discussions highlighted how arts-based interventions are contributing to rehabilitation of veterans, resilience among civilians and recovery for children living in conflict settings.
As Iryna Holubetska of the Unbroken Foundation emphasized, “Integrating the arts into health systems is not a luxury in wartime – it is an essential part of recovery and resilience.”
Advancing health resilience
The new campaign is part of WHO/Europe’s broader work on culture and health in Ukraine and implementation of its “Health Resilience in the Eastern Partnership” programme. The 3-year initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of the 5 Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) to respond to emergencies and health challenges through a multidisciplinary approach that includes support for health-care workers, expanded mental health services and innovative collaboration with the cultural sector. It is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood.
At the heart of this work is the Building Arts Capacity in Health initiative. In Ukraine, this includes a forthcoming national asset map of arts and health resources, completed capacity-building activities and the rollout of Healing Arts Ukraine, beginning in June 2026.
The campaign will highlight how creative practices, from art therapy to hospital interventions and community cultural initiatives, can support healing, foster social connection and build resilience at scale during times of crisis.
The strong engagement from British government representatives and partners at the round table signalled growing recognition that arts and health approaches are not complementary, but essential to addressing complex challenges in conflict-affected settings.
Co-organized with King’s College London and Ukrainian partners Art Therapy Force, the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Center and Cultural Forces, the session was chaired by British Member of Parliament John Slinger and included representatives from the British Ministry of Defence and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.