scholarly journals Depression: International intervention for a global problem

2004 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 379-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike. J. Crawford

Since 1948 the World Health Organization has had the challenging task of trying to achieve ‘the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health’ (World Health Organization, 1946). A central part of this work has involved assessing the extent of health-related problems in different parts of the world and advocating for the implementation of effective strategies to address these problems. For many years the World Health Organization has expressed concerns about the relatively low level of funding assigned to mental health services in many countries. Estimates based on data collected in 2000 show that in most of sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia there are fewer than one mental health nurse and one psychiatrist per 100 000 people (World Health Organization, 2001). Two papers produced with the support of the World Health Organization and published in this issue of the Journal strengthen the argument for additional funding for mental health services. In the first paper, üstün and colleagues (2004, this issue) summarise data on the relative impact of common health-related problems in different regions of the world, and in an accompanying paper Chisholm and others (2004, this issue) estimate the cost-effectiveness of different interventions for depression in these different areas.

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-83
Author(s):  
Matt Muijen

Over the past decade, attention has increasingly focused on the need to increase the capacity of mental health services. The World Health Report 2001 – Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope (World Health Organization, 2001) set the agenda, advocating the development of community-based mental health services. The case for scaling up, inspired by the World Health Organization's vision of ‘no health without mental health’, was powerfully argued first in the Lancet series in 2007 (Prince et al, 2007) and again in the Lancet in 2011 (Eaton et al, 2011). The forthcoming Global Mental Health Action Plan, requested in a resolution by member states of the World Health Organization at the 2012 World Health Assembly, is a great opportunity to formulate objectives and targets for countries, and to analyse experiences from around the world. The forthcoming European Action Plan builds on this, customising actions for European countries.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Hakim Rhouma ◽  
Nusrat Husain ◽  
Nadeem Gire ◽  
Imran Bashir Chaudhry

Despite all the internal and external criticisms of mental health services in Libya, they remain underdeveloped across the country. The World Health Organization has made efforts to improve the country's mental health services; however, until a stable government is formed, patients with mental illness will continue to be deprived of their basic needs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Shah ◽  
Chris Heginbotham

The World Health Report 2001, dedicated to mental health, identified several important factors for improving mental health services (World Health Organization, 2001): the policy and legislative framework; community mental health services; provision of mental healthcare within primary care; human resources; public education; links with other sectors; and monitoring and research. Moreover, national mental health policies and national implementation programmes for these policies are vital for the improvement of mental health services (World Health Organization, 2004; Jacob et al, 2007).


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-469
Author(s):  
Tiamo Katsonga-Phiri ◽  
Kathryn E. Grant ◽  
Molly Brown

Sub-Saharan Africa is a part of the world that is highly affected by a large number of atrocities, causing a myriad of financial, physical health, and mental health consequences. Yet, unfortunately, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is also the part of the world that is least served by mental health services. In response, the WHO has created mandates to increase mental health resources and capacity in all countries. Researchers have taken on the work of introducing and adapting treatments in various sub-Saharan African countries with an aim to create sustainable, evidence-based treatment in a part of the world with high need. The current qualitative systematic review of the literature examines 20 articles that report on research conducted in sub-Saharan African countries with children who have suffered different types of traumas. This review answers questions concerning the types of treatments used, the people administering the treatments, the measures they take to adapt these treatments, and the types of outcomes that are seen. Overall, the majority of treatments being used are shown to be effective with the associated populations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-81
Author(s):  
David Skuse

We asked the programme managers for mental health at the World Health Organization's Regional Offices for Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia to provide an account of developments in the provision of mental health services within their regions.We are very fortunate that these busy and influential individuals were able to set aside the time to prepare articles that shed a fascinating light on strategic thinking within the World Health Organization.


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