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While the detrimental ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak on the mental wellbeing of the general public continue to unravel, older adults seem to be at high risk. As the geriatric population continues to grow in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it is essential to explore the influence of this outbreak on geriatric mental health, a topic often neglected. In this review, we depict the status of geriatric psychiatry in the Arab countries of the MENA region, exploring the variations from one nation to another. While some have a null exposure to the field, resources and expertise in other countries range from very limited to extensive. Furthermore, we highlight the measures implemented in the Arab region to address mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak; these tend to be insufficient when targeting the geriatric population. Finally, we provide short- and long-term recommendations to stakeholders that aim at enhancing the mental healthcare of older adults in the Arab countries of the MENA region, particularly during this pandemic., (© 2020 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

The emergence of mental health (MH) problems during a pandemic is extremely common, though difficult to address due to the complexities of pandemics and the scarcity of evidence about the epidemiology of pandemic-related MH problems and the potential interventions to tackle them. Little attention has been devoted so far to this topic from policymakers, stakeholders and researchers, resulting in a lack of replicable, scalable and applicable frameworks to help plan, develop and deliver MH care during pandemics. As a response, we have attempted to develop a conceptual framework (CF) that could guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of MH interventions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This CF was developed by early career psychiatrists from 16 countries that cover all the WHO regions. Their opinions were elicited via a semi-structured questionnaire. They were asked to provide their views about the current MH situation in their countries and to elaborate on existing 'myths' and misinformation. They were also asked to name the resources available and to propose solutions and approaches to provide accessible and affordable care. The CF was prepared based on the extant literature and the views discussed in this group; it illustrates the epidemiology of MH problems, preparedness plans, stage-specific plans or innovative solutions, opportunities to integrate those plans and possible outcomes at policy level. This CF can serve as a technical guide for future research regarding pandemics. It can be used to monitor trends and to optimize efforts, and to develop evidence based MH interventions. Still, further research focusing on the individual components of this framework is needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)