New assessment guidelines for measuring the overall impact of mental health problems in Latin America have served as a catalyst for countries to review their mental health policies. Latin American countries have taken various steps to address long-standing problems such as structural difficulties, s...carce financial and human resources, and social, political, and cultural obstacles in the implementation of mental health policies and legislation. These policy developments, however, have had uneven results. Policies must reflect the desire, determination, and commitment of policy-makers to take mental health seriously and look after people’s mental health needs. This paper describes the development of mental health policies in Latin American countries, focusing on published data in peer-reviewed journals, and legislative change and its implementation. It presents a brief history of mental health policy developments, and analyzes the basis and practicalities of current practice.
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This Teacher’s Guide accompanies the WHO publication Management of wastes from health-care activities . It provides teaching materials and recommendations for a three day training course, designed mainly for managers of health-care establishments, public health professionals and policy makers
El desarrollo de los pueblos y muy especialmente el de aquellos que se esfuerzan por escapardel hambre, de la miseria, de las enfermedades endémicas, de la ignorancia; que buscan unamás amplia participación en los frutos de la civilización, una valoración más activa de suscualidades humanas; q...ue se orientan con decisión hacia el pleno desarrollo, es observado por laIglesia con atención. Apenas terminado el segundo Concilio Vaticano II, una renovada toma deconciencia de las exigencias del mensaje evangélico obliga a la Iglesia a ponerse al servicio delos hombres para ayudarles a captar todas las dimensiones de este grave problema yconvencerles de la urgencia de una acción solidaria en este cambio decisivo de la historia de lahumanidad.
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