2001: The World Health Organization's mental health year (original) (raw)

2001, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

devoted to mental health. In May, the World Health Assembly will allocate part of its T meeting to the discussion of four key issues related to mental health care. Later this year, in October, the World Health Report, covering mental health issues and approaches, will be launched. Never before has mental health been so central to a year at the World Health Organization (WHO). Mental health has been propelled to the top of the WHO'S agenda for many reasons. Paramount among them is the fact-well-known by now but a complete surprise to the international community five years ago when the evidence was published in the Global Burden of Disease (Murray & Lopez, 1996)-that, worldwide, five of the ten leading causes of disability and premature mortality were mental and behavioral disorders. Such findings demanded appropriate responses from the world's governments, but these have been far from forthcoming. To some extent, this is quite possibly because, as a recently conducted survey by the WHO'S Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse has shown, 42% of those governments lack a national policy on mental health. However, a prior study by researchers from Harvard University, which thoroughly analyzed the world situation in mental health, concluded that despite the worrisome state of affairs, solutions exist that are feasible even for low-income countries (Desjarlais, Eisenberg, Good, & Kleinman, 1955). Reorientation of services, use of available technologies, and promotion of healthy public policies could make a difference. Some WHO regional governing bodies have adopted these strategies; other regions, however, have yet to analyze and endorse those recommendations.