This document presents an integrated strategy for mental health system development that will lead to enhanced service delivery, improved outcomes, and improved human rights for people with mental disorders.
By using the practical guidance provided in this document, countries can ensure that thei...r mental health systems are not haphazard, but rather, the products of careful consideration and planning.
more
The checklist is aligned with, and builds upon, existing COVID-19-related WHO guidelines and is structured around protective measures related to: 1) hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; 2) physical distancing; 3) use of masks in schools; 4) environmental cleaning and ventilation; and 5) respectin...g procedures for isolation of all people with symptoms. The checklist is designed to support policy-makers, staff and officials from the education and health sectors, local authorities, school principals/leaders and administrators, teachers’ unions, community leaders, school staff, teachers, parents and caregivers.
more
Providing community-based mental health services position paper
The protracted humanitarian situation in northeastern Nigeria, particularly in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) States, remains a concern due to ongoing insecurity, displacement, food insecurity, disease outbreaks, and climate-related shocks. To address these complex challenges, the health sector has ...developed a comprehensive humanitarian response strategy aligned with the three States Development plans, Durable Solutions for the Population Displacement Plan, and the Humanitarian Need Response Plan for 2025. This strategy aims to reduce morbidity and mortality among crisisaffected populations by ensuring timely, equitable, and effective delivery of lifesaving health services, while strengthen the resilience of health system and enhancing local and national capacities for sustainable health response in protracted emergency.
Supported by an in-depth analysis of the ongoing health humanitarian response using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) methodology, the strategy is guided by three key objectives:
1. Provide access to lifesaving interventions and sustain an effective response to the prolonged health emergency.
2. Prevent, mitigate, and prepare for health risks from all hazards and respond to all health emergencies.
3. Advance the primary health care approach and essential health system capacities for universal health coverage.
To achieve these objectives, the strategy employs the “Five C” framework which refers to:
• Collaborative Surveillance: Enhancing collaborative efforts for effective monitoring.
• Community Protection: Implementing community-based protection measures.
• Safe and Scalable Care: Ensuring care that is both secure and scalable.
• Access to Countermeasures: Facilitating access to necessary countermeasures.
• Emergency Coordination: Coordinating emergency responses efficiently.
These proactive approaches are designed to be more anticipatory and preemptive rather than reactive, aiming to meet the needs of the crisis-affected population by providing lifesaving interventions, enhancing preventive and anticipatory actions, and ensuring the resilience of the health system. All actions are guided by International Humanitarian Standards and the Humanitarian Principles.
The implementation of the health humanitarian response strategy will involve collaboration with local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international organizations. The strategy emphasizes localization and resource mobilization, efficient logistics and supply chain management, mainstreaming protection, and the deployment and training of healthcare workers. Continuous monitoring and periodic evaluation will ensure the effectiveness of the response. Cross-sector collaboration with sectors such as WASH, Nutrition, Education, and Protection will be crucial to enhance the quality and reach of health interventions. Additionally, sustainability and transition approaches will ensure long-term health outcomes and benefits, bridging the gap from humanitarian to development efforts.
By adopting this comprehensive approach, the humanitarian response in northeastern Nigeria, particularly in BAY States, can be effectively guided, ultimately reducing the suffering of affected populations.
more
Discussion Paper "Mental health, poverty and development", July 2009
This document synthesizes key elements of the World Health Organization (WHO) normative guidance on health policy and system support for community health worker (CHW) programmes and their application for HIV programmes. Building on relevant elements of HIV guidelines, tools and evidence identified b...y experts, it provides recommendations on tasks and roles that can be performed by CHWs (including for HIV), identifies the policy and system supports to optimize CHW performance, and gives examples of best practice. Its purpose is to inform the optimal design and delivery of CHW programmes targeting – either specifically or as part of a broader approach – the scale-up and sustainability of HIV services.
more
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jun; 15(6): 1279.
Published online 2018 Jun 16. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061279
There is growing understanding and high-level endorsement of the importance of strong collaborative multisectoral approaches to address a broad range of social, economic and governance issues for the prevention and control of noncommunicable disease (NCDs) and mental health conditions. In 2019, Worl...d Health Organization (WHO) Member States requested the WHO Director-General to provide an analysis across countries of successful approaches for the prevention and control of NCDs that used multisectoral action. This WebAnnex to the Global mapping report on multisectoral actions to strengthen the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions details experiences from around the world.
more
This training and guidance has been developed to provide an in-depth understanding on what it means to respect legal capacity in mental health and related areas as well as concrete strategies to ensure that people are able to exercise their right to legal capacity in all areas of their life. In this... context a wide range of scenarios are used to describe how different models of supported decision making can be applied in practice.
more
This document provides training and guidance on legal capacity and how supported decision making, recovery plans and advance plans help to avoid involuntary detention and treatment and ensure people are able to exercise their right to legal capacity.
People with mental disorders in low-income countries are at risk of being left behind during efforts to expand universal health coverage. Aim is to propose context-relevant strategies for moving towards universal health coverage for people with mental disorders in Ethiopia.
In recent decades, there have been concerted efforts to improve mental health services for youths alongside the challenges of rising healthcare costs and increasing demand for mental health needs. One important phenomenon is the shift from traditional clinic-based care to community based mental heal...th services to improve accessibility to services and provide patient-centred care. In this article, we discuss the child and adolescent community mental health efforts within the Asia-Pacific region.
Brain Sci.2017,7, 126; doi:10.3390/brainsci7100126
more
Miscellaneous
Child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies
Chapter J.1
Based on the survey, five principles for deinstitutionalization were identified: community-based services must be in place; the health workforce must be committed to change; political support at the highest and broadest levels is crucial; timing is key; and additional financial resources are needed.