Under the High Patronage of President Emmanuel Macron, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) celebrated its 80th anniversary, reaffirming its commitment to Embrace and other global partners.

AFD's project leaders from all over the world were invited to share their organizations’ knowledge, experiences, and achievements, through presenting projects, reflecting on challenges, and envisioning a better world.

As part of the celebration that was held at The National Museum of Natural History in Paris, Embrace’s Strategic Partnerships Director, Lea Zeinoun, took the audience on a Mental Health journey that started with a 40 seconds touching « Mise En Scène » film that reenacts voices of callers asking for The Lifeline’s support amidst the socio-economic crisis and tragic events Lebanon has been witnessing for the past few years.

« Imagine if these calls were never answered, if these cries for help were never heard… They used to be, especially in Lebanon, they used to be unanswered before Embrace existed. »

This was Zeinoun’s opening statement. In the last 10 years Lebanon has witnessed a 50% increase in suicide rates. In a world where every life matters, the efforts conducted by Embrace to ensure that mental health care is accessible to everyone in need, and that early detection and prevention efforts are sustained in a plummeting nation hit by multiple crises were the main messages sent by Zeinoun to the international audience attending the ceremony.

Embrace’s campaign “Unhealed Wounds” which was launched on August 4 2021, one year after the Beirut Blast, and which received international attention was broadcasted after Zeinoun’s speech. The campaign highlights the many post-traumatic hidden wounds that were caused by the explosion, and that may remain untold, unheard and untreated, if Mental Health & its services are not given the needed priority, and if justice is not served.