We need to be concerned about mental health in the context of climate change
The report focuses on several key areas where health outcomes are falling short, and provides insight into ways in which countries can improve the situation for their children and adolescents. Areas in focus include
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mental health, overweight/obesity and adolescent risk-taking behaviour.
The report shows, for example, that:
- mental health remains a neglected subject – only one quarter of countries are collecting data on the number of children treated by a mental health professional;
- half of countries do not regulate the marketing of food to children, despite the fact that childhood obesity rates are high across the Region and physical activity rates are low;
- almost half of countries have no policy that affects the availability of unhealthy foods at school;
- 2 in 5 girls and 1 in 3 boys who are having sex do not protect themselves; and
one third of countries do not offer legal access to contraception without parental consent for those under 18 years of age.
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Mental health issues are usually given very low priority in health service policies. Although this is changing, African countries are still confron
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ted with so many problems caused by communicable diseases and malnutrition that they have not woken up to the impact of mental disorders. Every country must formulate a mental health policy based on its own social and cultural realities. Such policies must take into account the scope of mental health problems, provide proven and affordable interventions, safeguard patients’ rights, and ensure equity.
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Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if acti
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on is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.
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A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.
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For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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В сборнике представлены статьи специалистов в сфере охраны психического здоровья по различным академическим дисциплинам, включая общую медицину, психиатрию, пси
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отерапию, психологию, социологию, педагогику, юриспруденцию, экономику, спорт, по материалам Конгресса ≪Психическое здоровье человека XXI века≫, который состоялся 7–8 октября 2016 г. в Москве.
The collection of scientific papers is collected from different areas of scientific knowledge, including general medicine, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychology, social policy, education, law, economics and sport. The publication contains materials that were delivered to the Organizing Committee of the Congress on Mental Health: Meeting the Needs of the XXI Century. The collection is intended for researchers and practitioners acting in the field of the mental health care.
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Each humanitarian setting provides distinct opportunities and challenges for actors to coordinate and collaborate at strategic and operational levels. The Health and Protection Joint Operational Framework has been developed to ensure that the
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health and protection response during humanitarian emergencies can adapt to each environment and is adequately coordinated to ensure high-quality services to meet the needs of affected individuals and at-risk groups based on their situation or vulnerabilities.
The Health and Protection JOF was conceived in 2019 as a collaboration between the Global Health Cluster (GHC), the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) and its Areas of Responsibility (AoRs), the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC MHPSS RG), and the Inter-Agency Working Group for Reproductive Health in Crisis (IAWG), in addition to key technical experts.
A Steering Group (SG) comprised of representatives from each of these entities guided the framework through a joint global analysis of good practices, gaps, and barriers to integrated and inter-sectoral response coordination. This included a mixed methods review of policy and practice, a survey of humanitarian experts, multiple case studies, structured stakeholder interviews, and field visits. This exercise produced a zero-draft which was then reviewed by field practitioners in three operational contexts to clarify and fully coordinate its operationally focused lens. Finally, the JOF was reviewed by the SG including via a series of consultations in early 2023 to consolidate the current framework.
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The guidelines begin with an overview of the determinants of mental health among children and adolescents before reviewing related South African policies and legislation. The document then discusses
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strategies to build skills among caregivers, teachers and other frontline providers of mental health interventions as well as those for counselling professionals. The guidelines conclude by identifying priority areas for mental health services among children and adolescents, including the prevention of child and substance abuse as well as services for those living with intellectual disabilities
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Mental disorders are a leading cause of the global burden of disease, and the provision of mental health services in developing countries remains v
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ery limited and far from equitable. Using the Creditor Reporting System, we estimate the amounts and patterns of development assistance for global mental health (DAMH) between 2007 and 2013. This allows us to examine how well international donors have responded to calls by global mental health advocates to scale up evidence-based services. Although DAMH did increase between 2007 and 2013, it remains low both in absolute terms and as a proportion of total development assistance for health (DAH). The average annual DAMH between 2007 and 2013 was US$133.57 million, and the proportion of DAH attributed to mental health is less than 1%. Approximately 48% of total DAMH was for humanitarian assistance, education, and civil services. More annual DAMH was channelled into the nonpublic sector than the public sector. Despite an expanding body of evidence suggesting that sustainable mental health care can be effectively integrated into existing health systems at relatively low cost, mental health has not received significant development assistance.
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This paper summarizes the findings for the Latin American and Caribbean countries of the WPA Task Force on Steps, Obstacles and Mistakes to Avoid in the Implementation of Community Mental Health Car
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e. It presents an overview of the provision of mental health services in the region; describes key experiences in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico; and discusses the lessons learned in developing community mental health care.
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J Depress Anxiety S3:004. doi:10.4172/2167-1044.S3-004
This paper is therefore designed to review public knowledge and belief about mental disorders (mental
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health literacy) in developing countries with particular emphasis on the public knowledge and beliefs about causes and symptoms of mental disorders, public attitude and perception towards people with mental illness and help seeking behaviors. The review will provide important evidences from developing countries which are relevant to introduce the concept of mental health literacy in Ethiopia as there has been no systemic review of evidences on mental health literacy and to guide the development and implementation of a mental health policy in Ethiopia where mental health policy is absent
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Good practices in Mental Health and Well-being
Cerebrum. 2016 Jul-Aug; 2016: cer-10-16.
Published online 2016 Jul 1.
Policy and systems. Global Mental Health(2017),4, e7, page 1 of 6. doi:10.1017/gmh.2017.3
This article describes experiences in implementing a community mental health and development project in a rural district in southern India, including the position of persons with
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mental illness when the project was initiated, the challenges faced and the strategies that were developed to overcome these challenges. The authors conclude that when services are locally available, persons with mental illness can be treated and rehabilitated within their own community. They can live with dignity and their rights are respected. There is a great need for inclusion of persons with mental illness in the existing developmental activities and in disabled persons’ organisations.
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More than 40% of the world population is 24 years old or younger, the vast majority of whom live in low- and lower middle–income countries. Globally, a quarter of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for mental disorders and substance abuse is b
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orne by this age group and about 75% of mental disorders diagnosed in adulthood have their onset before the age of
24 years . Most children and young people in developing countries, however, do not have access to mental health care.
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Miscellaneous
Chapter J.6
Vol. 5, No. 3 - 2011 | The Quarterly provides summaries of the best available research evidence on a variety of children’s mental health topics, prepared using systematic review and synthesis met
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hods adapted from the Cochrane Collaboration and Evidence-Based Mental Health. Our goal is to improve outcomes for children by informing policy and practice. The BC Ministry of Children and Family Development funds the Quarterly.
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Reducing the global suicide mortality rate by a third by 2030 is a target of both the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the WHO Global Mental Health Action Plan. However, an impediment to meeting
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this goal is the fact that suicide and suicide attempts remain illegal in at least 23 countries worldwide. Decriminalization of suicide and suicide attempts represents one critical step governments can take in their efforts to prevent suicide. The WHO Policy Brief on the health aspects of decriminalization of suicide and suicide attempts cites data and research to make a case for decriminalizing suicide globally. It also includes case examples from countries that have recently decriminalized suicide and suicide attempts — Guyana and Pakistan, Singapore,— providing important insights to policy-makers, legislators, parliamentarians and other decision-makers.
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