Paho And Oas Launch First Inter-american Mental Health Week

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) joins nan Organization of American States (OAS) to observe nan first ever Inter-American Mental Health Week during nan 2nd week of October. 

The week of activities aligns pinch PAHO's wide strategy and focuses connected nan theme: "Empower, Connect, Care: Strengthening Child and Youth Mental Health successful nan Americas." 

The OAS delegations are supporting respective activities during nan Inter-American Mental Health Week, including a webinar connected Wednesday, October 8, wherever an master from nan Collaboration Center from nan University of Chile presented a location overview of nan position of intelligence wellness services for children and adolescents successful superior care. 

A location shop scheduled for Thursday, October 9, co-organized by PAHO and nan OAS, focuses connected strengthening capacity for intelligence wellness emergency responses via 911 systems. 

"This location collaboration reflects a shared committedness to reside intelligence wellness challenges pinch a rights-based, patient-centered attack and to beforehand community-based initiatives crossed nan Hemisphere," PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, said astatine nan arena launch. 

Despite children and adolescents comprising astir 30% of nan organization successful nan Region of nan Americas, their intelligence wellness needs stay mostly unmet. Among young group aged 15 to 24 years, slump and worry are starring causes of years lived pinch disability, and termination ranks arsenic nan 3rd starring origin of death—underscoring an urgent and preventable nationalist wellness crisis. 

Sadly, galore children and adolescents successful nan Region of nan Americas look superior regular challenges specified arsenic violence, bullying, discrimination, poverty, wellness emergencies, and biology disasters, which summation their consequence of processing intelligence wellness conditions."

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director 

Strengthening capacity for early detection 

On Wednesday, PAHO launched Improving nan Mental Health of Children and Adolescents successful Primary Care, an online people aimed astatine improving nan recognition and attraction of intelligence wellness conditions successful children and adolescents crossed nan Region. 

The virtual people was designed for healthcare professionals who are not specialists successful kid and teen intelligence health, specified arsenic superior wellness attraction workers, arsenic good arsenic psychologists, nurses and societal workers. It responds to nan urgent request for early discovery and guidance of intelligence wellness problems that often statesman successful childhood. 

Hosted connected PAHO's Virtual Campus for Public Health, nan people is designed to fortify nan capacity of wellness services to respond efficaciously and successful a timely mode to nan needs of this population. This self-paced programme offers 10 modules covering anxiety, depression, trauma, constituent use, developmental disorders, ADHD, autism, and termination prevention. 

Reducing risk, building resilience 

The Inter-American Mental Health Week and nan caller people are portion of PAHO's broader efforts to fortify intelligence wellness systems. Under nan Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention successful nan Region of nan Americas, cardinal actions for illustration early involution and intelligence wellness promotion successful schools and communities tin trim consequence factors and build resilience. 

"We must do amended and nan clip to enactment is now. I impulse each countries and territories successful nan Region to make kid and teen intelligence wellness a nationalist priority. This includes fostering societal and affectional skills, training wellness workers to place and negociate intelligence wellness conditions successful superior wellness attraction and ensuring that schools and communities connection psychosocial support and build cardinal life skills," Dr. Barbosa said.