Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-t27h7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-23T16:38:56.371Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mental health: strengthening health and development opportunities in the WHO African Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Carina Ferreira-Borges
Carina Ferreira-Borges*
Affiliation:
Technical Officer Substance Abuse, Regional Office for Africa, Congo, World Health Organization Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, email [email protected]; [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Despite the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) to put mental health at the core of the health and development agendas, the underdevelopment of services in Africa is widespread. The adoption of the WHO's Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–20 at the 66th World Health Assembly in May 2013 provides an opportunity to reshape policy. In the African Region, mental health generally appears to be of low interest and people with mental health conditions are not prioritised. This article describes factors that contribute to this low level of interest and recommends collective action to prioritise mental health on the public health and social development agendas. It is also a call to all stakeholders to increase financial investment and bring mental health out of the shadows.

Type
Thematic papers
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 3 - 6
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2014

References

Basic Needs (2012) About us. At http://www.basicneeds.org/html/about.htm (accessed October 2013).Google Scholar
Bird, P., Omar, M., Doku, V., et al (2011) Increasing the priority of mental health in Africa: findings from qualitative research. Health Policy Plan, 26, 357–365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CBM (2013) Africa. At http://www.cbm.org/Africa-252070.php (accessed October 2013).Google Scholar
Flisher, A., Lund, C., Funk, M., et al (2007) Mental health policy development and implementation in four African countries. Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 505–516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, P., Land, H., Parker, R., et al (1975) Change, Choice and Conflict in Social Policy. Heinemann.Google Scholar
Katontoka, S. (2007) Users' networks for Africans with mental disorders. Lancet, 370, 919–920.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lund, C., Heyningen, T. & Majavu, M. (2010) Evaluation of the WHO African Regional Strategy for Mental Health 2000–2010. Report for the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. WHO.Google Scholar
Patel, V., Araya, R., Chatterjee, S., et al (2007) Treatment and prevention of mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 370, 991–1005.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saraceno, B., van Ommeren, M., Batniji, R., et al (2007) Barriers to improvement of mental health services in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 370, 1164–1174 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (2001) Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope. World Health Report WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2004) Disease and Injury Estimates for 2004. WHO. Available at http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_regional/en/index.html (accessed 15 October 2013).Google Scholar
WHO (2005) Mental Health Atlas 2005. WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2008) Mental Health Gap Action Programme. Scaling Up Care for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders. WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2009) Mental Health Systems in Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Who-Aims Cross-National Analysis. WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2011) Mental Health Atlas 2011. WHO.Google Scholar
WHO (2013) Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020. WHO. Available at http://www.who.int/mental_health/action_plan_2013/en (accessed December 2013).Google Scholar
WHO & WONCA (2008) Integrating Mental Health into Primary Care. A Global Perspective. World Health Organization and World Organization of Family Doctors.Google Scholar
WHO Regional Office for Africa (2000) Regional Strategy for Mental Health 2000–2010 (AFR/RC49/9). WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.