~MacArthur Grant for World Bank Postt~

WFMH has obtained a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support the one-year secondment of a mental health expert to the World Bank to provide education and advice in health programs. The appointment will provide an opportunity to more fully integrate consideration for mental health and care for mental illness into world development activities. The grant has been secured through the efforts of WFMH Treasurer Dr. John Gates, Director of the Mental Health Project at the Carter Center. Rachel Jenkins, M.D., of the WHO Collaborating Center at the Institute of Psychiatry in London was also instrumental in initiating discussions with the World Bank. The grant will enable WFMH to provide a stipend for the twelve-month appointment, with a travel allowance and relocation expenses.

The successful candidate will work with World Bank staff in the Health, Nutrition and Population team of the Human Development Network, and will contribute to the Bank’s work both at a global level and in terms of country-specific projects. Qualifications include solid experience in the design and implementation of mental health programs, with demonstrated understanding of their institutional and fiscal context, and knowledge of different health systems. Extensive travel will be expected. The mental health expert will also contribute to training plans, build up relevant materials for Bank use, and will help identify outside contacts as future sources of information.

WFMH President Marten deVries mailed a letter in July to voting member organizations with details of the secondment and selection criteria, and inviting applications from qualified candidates. The Federation has established a screening committee consisting of Marten deVries, Secretary General Eugene Brody, John Gates, Rachel Jenkins, and Arthur Kleinman, M.D. of the Harvard University Department of Social Medicine. The deadline for applications to Dr. Gates at the Carter Center was 17 August. Short-listed candidates will be invited to Washington, D.C. for an interview, and a list of three final candidates will be submitted to the World Bank to enable it to make the final choice. The successful candidate will take up the position in 1999.