April 16, 2026 (New York): The eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) convened a high-level gathering, "Transforming Mental Healthcare with Technology," to formally launch two major initiatives designed to strengthen mental health response in humanitarian settings and accelerate learning across the digital mental health ecosystem.

 The first initiative on “Global Responses to Unrelenting Distress” includes a special webinar on “Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Current Crises and Conflicts”, as a targeted global response to unrelenting distress worldwide by equipping Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) personnel with practical, evidence-based skills to provide immediate psychological care and support in emergencies, disasters, and conflict zones in order to reduce initial distress, promote safety and stabilisation, identify urgent needs, and connect individuals to ongoing care. The inaugural webinar will launch in June 2026, co-chaired by psychologist Dr Judy Kuriansky (USA) and mental health practitioner and medical anthropologist Ananda Galappatti (Sri Lanka).

The second initiative, The Collaborative Learning Hub, is a global platform for sharing best practices, research, tools, and training to scale safe, effective, and culturally appropriate digital mental health solutions.

 The event brought together leaders from across the spectrum of mental health and related fields from countries allover the world, including senior representatives and delegates from the United Nations and accredited non-governmental organizations, academia, financial institutions, philanthropic foundations, persons with lived-experience, members of the Kiwi Expat Association, and broadcast and Broadway producers and artists united by a single purpose: to create lasting impact for mental health in humanitarian contexts.

 “Rising mental‑health needs across all ages around the world requires that care be available for people whenever and wherever they need,” said New Zealand Professor Anil Thapliyal, founder and Executive Director of the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC). “This is a crucial gap that can be addressed by harnessing digitally enabled solutions." eMHIC is widely regarded as the world’s leading think tank in the niche digital mental health domain for promoting international collaboration and guiding governments as key to efficiently develop and implement safe and effective Digital Mental health solutions.

 The evening’s program started with a greeting from Māori indigenous leader Adrian Te Patu who emphasized the value of enhancing traditional practices with technological techniques.

Presentations included a humanitarian address by former SAMHSA administrator and eMHIC board chair Charles Curie, an overview of technology in mental health by Professor Thapliyal, and a powerful lived-experience testimony by Nick Yarris, whose story of a 22-year-long false incarceration is told in the current Broadway hit, “TheFear of 13”.

Moving performances were by Princess Lockeroo and international musician Russell Daisey playing original anthems about hope.

The evening concluded with the presentation of the Leadership Excellence Award to international psychologist,professor and humanitarian Dr Judy Kuriansky honoured for her longstanding global service as a mental health first responder in conflict zones and humanitarian settings worldwide and for her new book “Resilient Health: Leveraging Technology and Social Innovations to Transform Healthcare for COVID-19 Recovery and Beyond”. She was alsoinducted as a lifetime member of eMHIC’s Digital Mental Health Hall of Fame.

 “What I’ve seen from providing psychosocial support post-disasters and in low-resource settings from Haiti and Japan to Iran, is that mental health care that is urgently and immediately needed can be provided through technologicalmeans,” says Dr Kuriansky. A representative at the United Nations for 23 years, who has successfully advocated for the inclusion of mental health in UN frameworks, she adds, “Digital mental health services are essential to ‘leave no one behind’, as called for at the United Nations.”

 The event was hosted by Dr. Kuriansky at the 3 West Club in the heart of New York City, and co-sponsored by eMHIC,the Baqar Foundation, and the International Association of Applied Psychology, whose representatives, Kuriansky, Baqar and Daisey are all mental health advocates at the UN.

 “Every girl in Pakistan deserves more than survival - she deserves the tools, confidence, and opportunity to shape her own life,” said Zeever Z. Baqar, whose Baqar Foundation provides education and empowerment services foryoung girls in Pakistan. “We’re not just building programs, we’re building a generation of young women who know their voice matters.“

About the Co-host organisations

eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC)

eMHIC is the world’s leading think tank, widely regarded as the global peak body in the niche digital mental healthdomain for promoting international collaboration as a key method to efficiently develop and implement safe and effective Digital Mental health solutions. eMHIC believes in adapting international best practices to local contexts, ensuring digital mental health solutions meet the unique needs of different countries, communities, and diverse populations. This learning collaborative provides a platform to “Think Globally and Act Locally (GLOCAL),” bringingtogether policymakers, funders, planners, people with lived experience, academia, the workforce, and industry leaders. By fostering these cross-sector collaborations, eMHIC helps shape practical, evidence-based, and scalable digital mental health strategies tailored for real-world impact. (www.emhicglobal.com)

The International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) is the oldest organization of applied psychologists in all fields dedicated to promoting the science and practice of applied psychology and to facilitating interaction and communication around the world. (www.iaapsy.org)

 The Baqar Foundation (TBF) is a Pakistan-based nonprofit dedicated to providing education and empowerment services to young girls, equipping them with the tools, confidence, and opportunities to shape their own futures.(www.thebaqarfoundation.org)