WFMH: 2001 Annual Report

With funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Federation sponsored a medical expert to work as a Mental Health Specialist in the Health, Nutrition and Population unit. This program began with funding for one year in 1999, and was then expanded to three years. The purpose was to increase the awareness of the Bank’s staff about mental health issues, and to provide advice for health lending. Harvey Whiteford, the former Commonwealth Director of Mental Health in Australia, held the initial one-year post. He was replaced in April 2000 by Florence Baingana, a Principal Medical Officer from Uganda’s Health Ministry. Dr. Whiteford continued his involvement on a part-time basis.

During 2001 Drs. Baingana and Whiteford continued to work to expand knowledge of mental health topics in the Bank, approaching the task from many angles. Dr. Whiteford was able to secure support from the US National Institute of Mental Health for work at the Bank to study how mental health services should be funded, within the context of public health sector reform and financing. New contacts with the World Health Organization’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence were developed. Bank personnel reviewed an early draft of WHO’s World Health Report on mental health, and Drs. Baingana and Whiteford contributed case studies for the Report.

Harvey Whiteford

Within the Bank a web page on mental health was set up for the intranet. A series of informal meetings with invited speakers was arranged for staff. Attention was drawn to mental health aspects of other health problems. Bank Trust Funds were mobilized for the inclusion of mental health questions in national surveys in Bosnia and Burundi, and for a study of the social and psychological consequences of female genital mutilation. In operations work, where technical support was provided for country task teams, mental health components were developed for lending to Burundi, the Palestinian Authority, Lesotho, and Romania. Overall, World Bank lending for mental health has increased substantially during the program.

Florence Baingana

Whenever possible Drs. Baingana and Whiteford also took part in activities outside the Bank to promote mental health and to describe the work of its Health, Nutrition and Population Section.