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Making Mental Health a Global Priority
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MENTAL HEALTH POLICY
& HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY |
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WFMH MEMBER ASSEMBLY ENDORSES
UN CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The WFMH Member Assembly,
meeting in Hong Kong SAR China on August 20, 2007, endorsed the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities and urged national governments throughout the world
to embrace and implement the provisions of the Convention.
(To
view the full text of the Convention and other important
information, visit
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150)
The Resolution adopted by the
WFMH Member Assembly, as submitted by its Voting Member
organization Mental Health America (USA), reads as follows:
“WHEREAS the United
Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus on December 13,
2006, a landmark treaty to promote and protect the rights of the
world's 650 million people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS mental
impairments are explicitly included in the treaty and are among
the most prevalent and most disabling of all health conditions;
and
WHEREAS the U N
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will
require ratifying nations "to promote, protect and ensure the
full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote
respect for their inherent dignity" and promote awareness of the
capabilities of those who are disabled
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the
World Federation for Mental Health support the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
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ADVOCACY BY WFMH AT THE UNITED NATIONS
AND ITS
SPECIALIZED AGENCIES - 2007
Background
The World
Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) has had special consultative
status at the United Nations since 1963. Its association with UN
agencies stretches back even further, to the founding of the UN
system in 1948 and its own foundation in London that same year.
WFMH was granted consultative status by the World Health
Organization and UNESCO in 1948 and worked with these two
agencies on various projects. Other UN offices with which it has
had later contacts include the International Labour
Organization, UNICEF, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and the World Bank. Currently its main associations are
with the Economic and Social Council of the UN in New York, the
UN Department of Public Information in New York, the UN Office
in Geneva and the World Health Organization in Geneva.
Activities in 2007
UN New
York
World Mental Health Day
observed by the UN NGO Committee on Mental Health
The UN NGO Committee on Mental
Health arranged a program on 11 October 2007 to mark World
Mental Health Day. The moderators were Janice Wood Wetzel, chair
of the NGO Committee and UN Main Representative, International
Association of Schools of Social Work, and Nancy E. Wallace,
ex-officio Chair of the NGO Committee and UN Main
Representative, World Federation for Mental Health.
The meeting opened with remarks
by Andrey Pirogov, Assistant Director-General of the World
Health Organization and Executive Director of the WHO Office at
the UN in New York. Robert T. Carter and Jessica Forsyth from
Teachers College, Columbia University, addressed the development
of racially-culturally competent mental health care. Mahroo
Moshari, UN Representative, International Union of
Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, spoke about
encountering diversity in the classroom, and raising awareness
of mental health issues among Muslim Americans. Ellen Mercer,
WFMH Deputy Executive Officer and Director, WFMH Center for
Transcultural Mental Health, described plans to build up the
Federation’s broad new initiative focusing on culture and mental
health.
Activities in the Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW) 51st Session”
In March WFMH
UN Representatives participated in the 51st Session of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW, 26-February - 9 March 2007) in New York. The Federation’s
UN Representatives have been actively involved with this
important UN Commission since 1992. The CSW priority theme this
year, “the
elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against
the girl child,”
is of particular importance to the mission and members of WFMH.
Our organization, as a member of the NGO Committee on Mental
Health, joined other NGOs in various advocacy efforts to
persuade the participating governments to include mental health
in the proceedings and in the final agreed conclusions of the
Commission. A statement submitted under the auspices of the
member organizations of the Committee was accepted as part of
the official outcome documents. The statement addresses mental
health as it relates to the central theme of the Commission and
is available on the CSW website in the official languages of the
UN.
WFMH sponsored
a side event panel organized by its Main Representative, Nancy
Wallace, on “Violence
and the Mental Health Consequences for the Girl Child”
(Tuesday, 27 March). The international workshop explored the
impact of various types of violence on girls, ranging from
violence against the individual to the consequences of
war.
Nancy Wallace
joined with former WFMH Board member Prof. Chueh Chang to
arrange another WFMH-sponsored panel on “Building
a Mentally Healthy Environment to Promote Gender Equity for
Girls”
(Monday, 5 March). This panel focused on the impact of
discrimination and social environment on girls, with particular
attention to Asian countries. WFMH UN Representative Ricki
Kantrowitz was the moderator.
Prof.
Kantrowitz also organized and moderated a panel under the
auspices of the NGO Committee for Mental Health on “Mental
Health Implications of Violence and Discrimination Against the
Girl-Child: Prevention and Interventions”
(Wednesday, 7 March). The panel reviewed the psychological
consequences of violence and discrimination against girls, the
development of effective interventions, and the importance of
recognizing mental health as a critical dimension in successful
strategies for combating and eliminating all forms of violence
against women of all ages.
In addition, as
co-convenor of the NGO Committee’s Working Group on Gender
Perspectives, Prof. Kantrowitz helped to organize three caucuses
(open meetings) about advocating for mental health issues with
the government delegations attending the CSW.
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Youth
Delegation
In special
recognition of this year’s theme, the CSW encouraged NGO
delegations to include youth in their membership. The WFMH
delegation included six students sponsored by Dr. Nancy Dubrow
of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and a teenager
from California sponsored by UN Representative Ricki Kantrowitz
who later wrote the following report:
“My name
is Samantha Steindel-Cymer. I’m thirteen years old and live
in Los Angeles, California. I was invited to attend the CSW
by Ricki Kantrowitz, with the approval of Nancy Wallace.
Before I attended the Commission, I felt I was sensitive to
mental health issues due to the fact that my mother is a
clinical psychologist in private practice. However, because
of the influence of the Commission, I realized how truly
limited my world awareness was regarding psychological
issues.
I was
present at WFMH sessions, at a girl’s caucus, and other
discussion groups. I had the opportunity to meet girls who
had been trafficked, abused, undergone female genital
mutilation, were deprived of educational and health
benefits, and learned about many more issues.
Because
of this exposure to the United Nations, my awareness of
improving mental health for people within my own community
and the world beyond had broadened significantly. I feel
compelled to spread and share this knowledge with
organizations in my area. Using this newfound insight, I can
be more empathetic towards the world around me, and in my
small way try to make a difference.”
CSW Website
References:
UN
Commission on the Status of Women
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/51sess.htm
CSW NGO
Statements E/CN.6/2007/NGO/16
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw51/OfficialDocuments.html
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UN Offices
in Geneva
In June WFMH
partnered with nine other NGOs, under the auspices of the UN NGO
Committee on Mental Health, to participate in the
First Session of
the Global Platform for Disaster Reduction
held in Geneva by
the UN International Strategies for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).
The ISDR is a UN office based in Geneva, and the Global Platform
has been established as the main UN consultative forum on
disaster risk reduction at the global level. It brings together
a wide range of actors in the various sectors of development and
humanitarian work, and also in environmental and scientific
fields, with the aim of expanding the political space dedicated
by governments to disaster risk reduction. The Platform, as a
global forum, advocates for effective and timely action by
nations, communities and all stakeholders and partners to
mitigate risk and manage vulnerabilities in order to reduce the
impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes,
tsunamis and floods.
The goal of the
NGOs’ participation was to ensure the integration of mental
health and psychosocial issues into the disaster risk reduction
agenda and the discussions on implementation of the Hyogo
Framework for Action. The Hyogo Framework was drafted during the
January 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction convened by
the UN General Assembly and attended by 168 governments in
Japan. The conference developed guidelines for global efforts in
the decade 2005-2015 to reduce vulnerabilities arising from
natural disasters. It followed an earlier decade-long strategy
produced at a conference in Yokohama in 1994.
During the June
session in Geneva, the partners from the NGO Committee on Mental
Health organized a side event, issued a formal statement and
provided recommendations for the final summary report. Though
not able to travel to Geneva, WFMH UN Main Representative Nancy
Wallace was involved in all aspects of the planning and
development of the effort. The side panel included important
presentations by Margareta Wahlström, Assistant
Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency
Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, and Mark Van Ommeren, World Health Organization (WHO),
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. A detailed
report on the side event and the statement can be found on the
Global Platform website.
Dr. Judy
Kuriansky, UN Main Representative of the International
Association of Applied Psychology, represented the partner
organizations at the meeting.
Website
References:
International Strategies for Disaster Reduction
http://www.unisdr.org/
First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
5-7 June 2007, Geneva
http://www.preventionweb.net/globalplatform/first-session/docs/Others_submitted_Statements/NGO_Mental_model_Statement.pdf
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WORLD FEDERATION FOR
MENTAL HEALTH
POSITION STATEMENT
(Final version,
adopted at Board of Director’s Meeting, Oslo, Norway, October
13, 2006)
MENTAL HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
The position
of the World Federation for Mental Health is that lack of mental
health care for persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in
low-income countries is causing undue suffering and loss of
quality of life, and undermining the effectiveness of HAART,
Psychosocial Support and other crucial HIV/AIDS programs
Preamble
The World
Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is made up of organizations
and individual members representing all mental health
professional disciplines, service users, carers and citizen
advocates from over 100 countries. WFMH has noted that, whereas
people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in higher income
countries have access to a wide range of mental health services
from prevention to care and rehabilitation, mental health
services in low-income countries are generally lacking, or
under-utilized due to ignorance, or stigma associated with
mental health. In this position statement, WFMH calls for
recognition of and response to the impact of this deficiency on
the quality of life of survivors and on the effectiveness of
Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Treatment (HAART), Psychosocial
Support and other HIV/AIDS programs in low-income countries.
The
HIV/AIDS epidemic in low-income countries
The declaration
following the 2006 United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGASS)
High-Level Meeting on AIDS reaffirmed that HIV/AIDS constitutes
a global emergency that requires an exceptional and
comprehensive global strategy. More than 25 million people have
died since the onset of the epidemic a quarter of a century ago,
and 15 million have been orphaned. There are 14000 new
infections every day, and 8000 deaths. Forty million people are
currently living with HIV, more than 95 percent of whom are in
developing countries. While the pandemic affects every region of
the world, Africa, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa, remains the
worst affected region.
Although the
declaration reaffirms that access to medication is one of the
fundamental elements for the achievement of physical
health, it recognizes that many other factors must be addressed
for the pandemic to be reversed: these include gender
discrimination, stigma, poverty, and the knowledge and behaviour
of youth, as well as human resource deficiencies. The
declaration also asserts that addressing the vulnerabilities of
affected and infected children and supporting their caregivers
is a priority.
Current
status of global HIV/AIDS interventions
The global
HIV/AIDS response includes many initiatives coordinated by or in
collaboration with the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) and supported by the Global Fund. Member states adopted
the first specific global target against HIV/AIDS at the UN
General Assembly (UNGASS) in July 1999, and the Global Strategy
Framework and The Declaration of Commitment followed in 2000 and
2001 respectively. UNICEF and other organizations published The
Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and
Vulnerable Children living in a world with HIV/AIDS in 2004. In
2003 the World Health Organisation committed to getting
anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for 3 million people living with
HIV/AIDS in poor countries by 2005 (3 by 5 Program). In 2004,
the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse began
an initiative to integrate mental health into the 3 by 5
program. Many nongovernmental and faith-based organizations also
contribute to the global HIV/AIDS response, such as the
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, established in 1993 to support
community action on AIDS in developing countries, and the
International Council of Aids Service Organizations (ICASO).
The report of
the Secretary-General to the 2006 UNGASS Meeting on AIDS stated
that the epidemic continues to outpace the global response: only
about one in five people in low- and middle-income countries who
need antiretroviral drugs are currently obtaining them, and
services to prevent mother-to-child transmission reach fewer
than 10% of those needing them. Only one in four youth correctly
identify ways of preventing HIV transmission. Less than one in
ten vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa are reached by
basic support services. Stigma and discrimination are still
pervasive, and remain a serious obstacle to the success of
HIV/AIDS intervention programmes. The Secretary-General added
that “comprehensive AIDS treatment and care involves more than
antiretrovirals, encompassing the treatment of opportunistic
infections, proper food and nutrition, psychosocial care and
other essential health and social services…While developing
countries should do more to finance the response to HIV, the
world must look primarily to international donors to close the
looming resource gap”.
The 2006
Meeting was the first in which a person living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH)
was invited to address an UNGASS meeting. This has opened a much
needed channel of communication between global policy makers and
those for whom the policy is being devised. The 2006 meeting
recommitted itself to implement fully the 2001 Declaration of
Commitment, the Millenium Development Goals, and other
internationally agreed goals and objectives. Another first was
the resolution to integrate food and nutritional support in the
response to HIV/AIDS, with the Global Fund in future to include
funding for nutrition in ART roll-out funding. The meeting urged
the Global Fund and other international donors to provide
additional resources to low- and middle-income countries for the
strengthening of HIV/AIDS programs and health and social service
systems, and for addressing gaps in resources.
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Mental
Health and HIV/AIDS in low-income countries
Many factors
contribute to an increased mental health burden in low-income
countries. Higher rates of morbidity and mortality from a range
of infectious diseases and environmental hazards contribute to a
raised prevalence of mental and developmental disorders, as do
poverty, the plight of women, and the difficult circumstances
which children
have to endure. Ignorance and stigma regarding mental disorders,
compounded by major treatment gaps, also contribute
significantly to the burden. The implication is that large
numbers of children, adolescents and adults, rather than only a
small severely affected proportion, are suffering from or at
risk for mental health problems in these countries. Furthermore,
indications are that the burden of mental health in low-income
countries is on the increase.
HIV infection
induces a range of serious mental disorders. Even post-HAART,
PLWH continue to remain at risk for common mental disorders and
mild cognitive impairment. Individuals with pre-existing mental
or personality disorders have increased vulnerability to HIV
infection, and may present major challenges in the areas of
voluntary counseling and testing, high-risk behaviour, adherence
to antiretroviral treatment, and parenting capacity. HIV/AIDS
undermines parenting functions and the quality of the
parent-child relationship, especially when mothers are infected.
HIV/AIDS also leads to profound psychosocial adversity for
infected and affected children, increasing the risk of mental
and developmental disorders.
Evidence is
accumulating that mental disorders and other psychosocial
stressors decrease the CD4 count and increase the viral load,
even in those enrolled in HAART programs. Interventions to treat
mental disorders and manage psychosocial stressors have been
found to reverse these effects. Mental health interventions with
persons living with AIDS who do not have mental disorders appear
to exert beneficial effects in a number of settings: for
instance, interventions to improve coping skills are associated
with positive effects on CD4 counts and viral loads; and
interventions to assist with disclosure issues improve
adherence, as do interventions to improve patient-physician
communication and interactions.
In summary, the
existing mental health burden in low-income countries is
significantly raised and on the increase. HIV/AIDS is associated
with an elevated risk of mental disorder in infected individuals
and their children, which is likely to persist post-HAART and
post-Psychosocial Support for at least another generation.
Mental disorder is associated with an increased risk both of
contracting HIV infection, and of undermining the body’s
response to the infection, even in the presence of
antiretrovirals. The implication is that mental health, like
stigma or food and nutrition, is a significant mediator in the
success of HAART and psychosocial support programs in low-income
countries. Their citizens’ lack of access to mental health
services is of grave concern and import.
Mental
health and the global HIV/AIDS response
UNAIDS and its
partners have recognized the circular relationship between
HIV/AIDS and social and other disadvantage, such as poverty,
gender inequality, and poor nutrition. The last few years have
seen increasing calls to improve the efficacy of HAART and
psychosocial support in low-income countries by increasing
multisectoral collaboration, strengthening linkages with
national development plans and strategies such as poverty
eradication strategies, embedding funding for food and
nutritional support in HAART budgets, and mainstreaming HIV/AIDS
interventions in all health and social service programs,
including disaster programs. There are calls for psychosocial
support programs to be integrated with paediatric HAART,
home-based care and all the childhood programs with which HAART
is being integrated, including nutrition. Psychosocial support
programs are moving away from discriminating between orphans and
children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and the many other
vulnerable children in developing countries. Added to these
developments, have been the recent calls by the WHO 3 by 5
Mental Health working group for the integration of mental health
into HIV/AIDS interventions in low-income countries.
Currently,
mental health is not integrated with HAART programs, nor has
this been recommended in any of the major international HIV/AIDS
declarations to date. Mental health is not specifically
identified as a matter for concern in any of the HIV/AIDS global
policy documents or funding strategies. Historically,
psychosocial support programs have focused on the social needs
and coping capacity of vulnerable children and their carers,
rather than on the identification of those at risk for mental
and developmental disorders, and their prevention and treatment.
In the light of the mutually reinforcing relationship between
mental health problems and HIV/AIDS, WFMH urges that mental
health be integrated into all HIV/AIDS interventions in
low-income countries. Researching,
costing, implementing and evaluating effective and sustainable
models of integration are a priority. Core funding for the
development and/or strengthening of mental health services
should be incorporated into global funding initiatives for HAART,
psychosocial support and other HIV/AIDS programs.
The WHO 3 by 5
Mental Health working group has developed a number of training
materials but mental health care resources in developing
countries are severely limiting the implementation of training
programs. Until all the essential elements of mental health care
are present in low-income countries, such as promotion,
prevention, care and rehabilitation, as well as sufficient
trained staff and access to essential psychotropic medication,
there is a likelihood that this important initiative will
deliver too little too late. The integration of mental health
into HIV/AIDS in low-income countries will require urgent
strengthening of their mental health programs. The WHO has
recommended that the development and implementation of an
adequately funded National Mental Health Policy and Plan is the
most effective way of ensuring provision of appropriate mental
health care. National Mental Health and HIV/AIDS Plans need to
be coordinated and integrated.
Without
integration the effectiveness of HAART and psychosocial support
programs in low-income countries will be seriously undermined,
and the quality of life of survivors of HIV/AIDS and their
families significantly reduced. Only recognition of the adverse
impact of mental health problems on the AIDS pandemic and an
urgent response by UNAIDS in collaboration with its
intergovernmental and nongovernmental partners, and member
countries can avert this outcome. A first step towards the
global integration of mental health into HIV/AIDS interventions
would be the integration of mental health into the policy making
structures of all international, regional and national bodies
responsible for interventions.
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Conclusion
WFMH recognizes
that access to ART and preventive programs are fundamental to
stopping the pandemic, and also have a major impact on the
mental health of those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. However
WFMH wishes to re-iterate that the mental and physical elements
and consequences of HIV/AIDS are interrelated, and that a large
proportion of the population in many low-income countries is at
high risk for mental health problems. Mental health is being
insufficiently addressed in current HIV/AIDS interventions in
low-income countries. Given the concentration of the epidemic in
those countries and their rising burden of mental health, the
World Federation for Mental Health calls upon the international
community to advocate for
- urgent
closure of the resource gap which is depriving those
infected or affected by HIV/AIDS from receiving adequate
mental health care, and from benefiting fully from HAART,
psychosocial support and other HIV/AIDS programs
- The
integration of mental health into HIV/AIDS interventions in
low-income countries
Mental
health bibliography
Brandt R (2005) Maternal well-being, childcare and child
adjustment in the context of HIV/AIDS: What does the
psychological literature say? University of Cape Town Centre for
Social Science Research working paper 05/135:
http://cssr.uct.ac.za
Collins PY, Holman AR, Freeman MC, Patel V (2006) What is the
relevance of mental health to HIV/AIDS care and treatment
programs in developing countries? A systematic review. AIDS, 20
(12): 1571-1582
Desjarlais R, Eisenberg L, Good B, Kleinman A (1995) World
Mental Health: Problems and priorities in low-income countries.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
Freeman MC, Patel V, Collins PY, Bertolote JM (2005) Integrating
mental health in global initiatives for HIV/AIDS, British
Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 1-3
Kohn R, Saxena S, Levav I, Saraceno B (2004) The treatment gap
in mental health care. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, 82, 858-866
Proceedings of the 2005 AIDSIMPACT Conference, Cape Town
Revised Atlas (2005) Mental health resources in the world.
Geneva: World Health Organization
World Health Report (2001). Mental Health: new understanding,
new hope. Geneva: World Health Organization
2006 issues of Mental Health AIDS:
http://mentalhealthAIDS.samhsa.gov.
Adopted by
the Board of Directors
World Federation for Mental Health
October 14, 2006
Oslo, Norway
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DECLARATION OF THE CONSORTIUM FOR
GLOBAL INFANT, CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH
The social, emotional and
mental health of infants, children and adolescents is essential
for effective learning and for sustaining healthy and productive
societies. Beginning early in life, a broad range of programs
from mental health promotion to early intervention, treatment
and care can provide resiliency and protection. Threats to the
mental health of children are recognized worldwide in the form
of exposure to violence, malnutrition, poverty, school failure,
disrupted families, lack of opportunities for self-sufficiency
and mental illness. Despite an increasing body of evidence
documenting the objective costs to society of mental ill health
in children and adolescents, influential policies and meaningful
financial support are lacking*. In fact, in some nations, child
mental health is suffering due to cutbacks in and a lack of
access to services previously available. This is a critical
period in world history when there is a need to redress past
failures and focus with a heightened sense of urgency on a few
steps that can be undertaken globally to improve the mental
health status of children and adolescents.
The World Health Organization
has documented the absence of programs for social emotional
learning and mental health promotion, as well as services for
children with or at risk for mental disorders worldwide (Atlas,
2005). The gaps are universal, but there are obvious differences
in countries by economic development, historical precedent and
impact of current events. Where the number of children is
greatest, the resources are the least! The WHO Atlas
demonstrated that long held beliefs that the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child ensured a level of access
to preventive programs and care and the fulfillment of a
mentally healthy life, and that the training of primary care
clinicians alleviated the need for other service initiatives,
were not true. The absence of infant, child and adolescent
focused mental health policy appears to be a significant
limiting factor to the support for promotion, prevention and
care.
Lack of a skilled education,
counseling and health care workforce hampers the delivery of
needed programs and services. This deficit, coupled with a lag
in the ability of primary health care services to incorporate
mental health interventions, and a failure of public health and
education initiatives to highlight mental health issues, has led
to continuing gaps in care over decades despite the clarion call
for change to meet needs. In spite of the overwhelming evidence
of cost effectiveness for interventions, such as those for
infants at the beginning of life, including home visiting to
benefit both the mother and child and their attachment
relationships and to recognize difficulties in parent-child
interaction, policy makers have failed to invest in and provide
support for their implementation at the needed scale. Much more
must be done to increase the awareness of educators concerning
the interdependent link between mental health, learning and
school success and the many evaluated programs to address mental
health along the continuum.
Imperfections in current
diagnostic schema are recognized. A better understanding of the
place of culture in both recognizing and ameliorating pathology
is needed. Likewise, recognizing the singular importance of
schools and the multiple tragedies that result from school
dropout must become part of the public debate. There is a
growing concern that a focus on pharmacological approaches to
the care of infants, children and adolescents in the absence of
adequate diagnostic procedures may distort the development of
services.
For the purpose of gaining a
consensus on the needed steps, many international organizations
have come together, forming a coalition to advocate for
necessary changes in policies and programs. The Consortium for
Global, Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health*** represents
consumers, professionals across disciplines and a broad range of
institutional supporters.
The Consortium endorses the
following recommendations:
--- Recognize a place for the
consideration and utilization of infant, child and adolescent
mental health interventions in international bodies, such as,
the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank,
International Organization for Migration, United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, International Red Cross and Red
Crescent, and others which care for children and adolescents in
their daily lives and during the aftermath of war, natural
disaster, and other upheavals. Currently, there is no focal
point designated for infant, child, or adolescent mental health
in these organizations.
--- Foster the development of
infant, child and adolescent mental health policy as an integral
part of education, social welfare, health policy and health
reform. Many guides to policy development exist with a most
useful one being the WHO publication, Manual on Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Policy Guidance.
--- Recognize and support
inter-sectoral responses to child and adolescent mental health
that help address the social, economic and political
determinants of mental health and mental illness in children and
adolescents. Utilize childcare, educational resources, community
education resources, health care promotion initiatives to focus
on mental health as an essential component of health and
education awareness.
--- Recognize and intervene at
the earliest possible developmental stage to promote positive
mental health and to avert the consequences of growing up with
conditions, which interfere with healthy mental development. The
field of infant mental health provides sophisticated guidance
for promoting mental health. Likewise, it is now recognized that
over 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of
14, and many can be prevented through promotion and
intervention, especially through schools.
- It is the intention of the
Consortium to initiate a Global Infant, Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Report Card. Data will identify continuing
gaps in policy, services, educational activities, economic
support and report on examples of distortions and crises in
care. Core data for the Report Card will be derived through
the resources of Consortium members, but others are invited
to participate in this global initiative.
- Further, the Consortium
will initiate the free distribution of an annual yearbook
containing articles on best practices, newer scientific
findings, and systems development. The Yearbook will be
specifically aimed to enhance the resources of low income
countries.
In the final analysis, the
Consortium aims to support promotion and prevention and to
alleviate the suffering of vulnerable infants, children and
adolescents so that a variety of sectors and agencies can become
more actively involved in supporting a trajectory for healthy
development., saving untold suffering and costs to individuals,
families and societies..
The Consortium seeks to gain a
better understanding of the clinical and policy issues that
either impede or support the ability to deliver culturally
relevant, responsible and responsive services to infants,
children and adolescent.
Mentally healthy children
and adolescents are essential for the future well-being of our
societies.
NOTES:
* Mental health cost fact
sheet.
** Rational care defines care for children and adolescents that
includes an appropriate diagnostic process, involvement of the
family, recognition of the child’s environment, the treatment of
any disorder in a manner that is based on efficacy and
effectiveness, and the utilization of interventions that do not
inappropriately utilize medications.
*** Consortium members: World
Association for Infant Mental Health; International Society for
Adolescent Psychiatry & Psychology; World Federation for Mental
Health; International Association for Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry and Allied Professions; EDC/INTERCAMHS….
Endorsed by the WFMH Board of
Directors, August 22, 2007
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WFMH Volunteer UN
Representatives
New York
Nancy Wallace, L.M.S.W., Main Representative (also DPI Main
Representative)
Ricki Kantrowitz, Ph.D.
Richard Donahue, M.S.W.
Haydee Montenegro, Ph.D.
Gary Belkin, M.D.
Geneva
Myrna Lachenal, R.N., Main Representative
Anne Yamada
Stanislas Flache, M.D.
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Improving
mental health and well-being
by promoting the
social inclusion of (ex)users of mental health services
means taking a
decisive step towards the eradication of poverty and social
exclusion
Position of
Mental Health Europe on the occasion of the 6th Round Table on
Poverty and Social Exclusion, Azores, Portugal 16-17 October
2007
(Used by
permission of Mental Health Europe)
On 16-17 October the annual
Round Table on Poverty and Social Exclusion, jointly
organised this year by the Portuguese Presidency and the
European Commission, will take place for the sixth time. The
Round Table provides a meeting point where national and local
public authorities, NGOs and academics can deepen the work done
in the area of social protection and social inclusion. This
year's event will focus on the importance of minimum social
standards as a key tool for strategies to fight against poverty
and exclusion which, in different countries, are built on the
twin pillars of protection and empowerment.
Mental Health Europe (MHE) has
been invited to participate in this event and is presenting the
viewpoint of mental health organisations in Europe on how the
Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social
Inclusion as well as all other different dimensions of
strategies for combating poverty and social exclusion can help
promoting mental health and well-being for all in Europe and
therefore ensure basic levels of citizenship and a ground on
which to build new and equal opportunities for everyone.
MHE's main concern is to raise
awareness about the fact that good mental health and
well-being of the European population is a valuable resource,
which enables citizens to realise their full intellectual and
emotional potential and to find and fulfil their roles in
society, in school, in working life and in retirement. For
the European Union, mental health and well-being will contribute
to the attainment of some of the EU’s strategic policy
objectives, such as the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs.
In today’s Europe where important demographic and social
changes, such as the ageing of the population, falling birth
rates, increased immigration both from within and outside the
European Union, are under way, these changes will have far
reaching consequences for all vulnerable groups, their mental
health and well-being. These changes require a fundamental
reassessment of how health and social and other relevant
resources are organised and utilised, and a serious political
debate on how to best face and deal with these challenges.
MHE's position paper and recommendations for promoting mental
health and well-being for all in Europe can be found on the MHE
website:
http://www.mhe-sme.org/assets/files/publications/MHE%20Position%20for%206th%20RT%20on%20Poverty%20and%20Social%20Exclusion.pdf
For further information please
contact the MHE secretariat:
info@mhe-sme.org, +32 2 280 04 68.
Améliorer la santé
mentale et le bien-être par le biais de la promotion de
l’intégration sociale des (ex)usagers des services de santé
mentale signifie effectuer des pas décisifs en vue de
l’éradiction de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale
Position de
Santé Mentale Europe à l’occasion de la 6ème table ronde sur la
pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale, Açores, Portugal 16-17 octobre
2007
Les 16-17 octobre la table
ronde annuelle sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale, qui
cette année est organisée conjointement par la Présidence
portugaise et la Commission européenne, se tiendra pour la
sixième fois. La table ronde constitue un point de rencontre où
les autorités publiques nationales et locales, les ONG et les
universitaires peuvent approfondir le travail réalisé dans le
domaine de la protection sociale et de l’inclusion sociale.
L’événement de cette année se concentrera sur l’importance des
minima sociaux, un outil clé pour les stratégies de lutte contre
la pauvreté et l’exclusion qui, dans différents pays, a pour
base les deux piliers que sont la protection et l’autonomisation.
Santé Mentale Europe (SME) a
été invitée à participer à cet événement et à présenter le point
de vue des organisations européennes en santé mentale sur la
façon dont la Méthode Ouverte de Coordination sur la protection
sociale et l’inclusion sociale et toutes les autres dimensions
des stratégies de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion
sociale peuvent aider à promouvoir la santé mentale et le
bien-être pour tous en Europe et assurer par conséquent des
niveaux minimums de citoyenneté et une base sur laquelle bâtir
une nouvelle égalité des chances pour tous.
Le principal souci de SME est
de sensibiliser le public au fait que la bonne santé mentale
et le bien-être de la population européenne constituent une
ressource précieuse, qui permet aux citoyens de réaliser leur
plein potentiel intellectuel et émotionnel et de remplir leur
rôle dans la société, à l’école, au travail et au moment de leur
retraite. Pour l’Union européenne, la santé mentale et le
bien-être contribueront à atteindre certains des objectifs
politiques stratégiques de l’UE, tels que la Stratégie de
Lisbonne sur la croissance et l’emploi. Dans l’Europe
d’aujourd’hui d’importants changements démographiques et sociaux,
comme le vieillissement de la population, la baisse des taux de
natalité et l’augmentation de l’immigration tant venue d’Europe
que de ses frontières extérieures, sont en cours. Ces
changements auront des conséquences étendues pour les groupes
les plus vulnérables, leur santé mentale et leur bien-être. Ces
changements nécessitent une réévaluation totale de la manière
dont les ressources sanitaires, sociales ou autres sont
organisées et employées et l’organisation d’un débat politique
de grande envergure sur la façon de mieux faire face et
affronter ces défis. Le document de position de SME et les
recommandations pour promouvoir la santé mentale et le bien-être
de tous en Europe peuvent être consultés sur le site internet de
SME :
http://www.mhe-sme.org/assets/files/publications/Position%20SME%20sur%206e%20TR%20Pauvrete%20et%20Exclusion%20sociale.pdf
Pour de plus amples
informations veuillez contacter le secrétariat de SME:
info@mhe-sme.org, +32 2
280 04 68.
Mental Health Europe - Santé
Mentale Europe aisbl
Boulevard Clovis 7, B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +32-2-280 04 68 - Fax: +32-2-280 16 04
E-mail: info@mhe-sme.org
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