REOI: Academic and research services for the evaluation and documentation of WHO mental health programming in Ukraine, WHO Country Office, Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) invites vendors to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for academic and research services to design an outcome evaluation of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) in Ukraine and to document WHO’s experience in implementing mhGAP and standardized psychological interventions (SPIs) in Ukraine through case studies and peer-reviewed publications.

WHO has been instrumental in supporting the introduction of new mental health services in Ukraine through the implementation of its evidence-based psychological interventions, including Self-Help Plus (SH+) and Problem Management Plus (PM+), as well as the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG).

As a result of mhGAP implementation in Ukraine, more than 9,000 doctors and nurses have been trained in mhGAP, over 20,000 primary health care (PHC) doctors have completed an mhGAP-based online course, and approximately 30 million patients who have signed a declaration with their PHC doctor have gained access to mental health services. During the first half of 2025, a total of 14,000 PHC doctors were involved in the provision of mental health services.

Since 2020, WHO evidence-based psychological interventions, SH+, PM+, and Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (DWM), have been adapted and implemented in Ukraine. To date, more than 2,800 providers have been trained in these interventions, and over 29,000 people have received psychosocial support through their implementation.

To support evidence-informed planning for the continuation and scale-up of mental health programming in Ukraine and to document lessons learned from the implementation of mhGAP and psychological interventions, WHO is seeking support from an academic partner to design and prepare a series of evaluation activities to address the following objectives:

Design an evaluation study and develop a study protocol to assess the outcomes of mhGAP implementation in Ukraine, including preparing the documentation required for ethics review (including by the WHO Ethics Review Committee) and supporting the review process until an ethics determination is issued.

Document the implementation and scale-up of mhGAP in Ukraine through a comprehensive case study and prepare a manuscript for submission to an international peer-reviewed journal.

Document WHO’s experience with the adaptation, implementation and scale-up of SPIs (SH+, PM+ and DWM) in Ukraine through a comprehensive case study and prepare a manuscript for submission to an international peer-reviewed journal.

WHO will provide programme documentation, monitoring data, implementation reports and other relevant materials, as well as liaison with colleagues and partners engaged in the programmes. The indicative implementation period is 1 December 2026 to 30 April 2027, with the study protocol and ethics documentation expected by 31 December 2026.

WHO intends to invite selected vendors to participate in a formal solicitation, via a Request for Proposals (RFP), at a later stage. Complete details of the requirements, including the full Terms of Reference, will be included in the solicitation documents. At this stage, interested vendors are required to complete the questionnaire in Annex A, providing all requested information and documentation.