FYI.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tina Minkowitz" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 8:53 AM
Subject: Re: PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES MUST BE INCLUDED IN DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES – UN
Dear Frank,
Please forward my comments on this to your lists - unfortunately this
meeting and agenda was put on completely without consulting with
World Network of Users & Survivors of Psychiatry. While World Health
Organisation has attempted to clean up its language somewhat, and
they have backed off from openly promoting forced treatment and the MI
principles, their agenda remains a medical
model one of "treatment" defined as psychiatric drugs. it is good
that WHO is acknowledging the social inclusion agenda and the issue of
employment and education - but they still have a long way to go in
embracing a human rights based approach to development where human
rights of pwd include legal capacity and freedom from the traumatizing
and degrading practices of psychiatric detention and forced treatment,
as well as ending economic and social discrimination.
best wishes,
tina
On Sep 16, 2010, at 5:46 PM, Frank Hall-Bentick wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "UNNews" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 5:05 AM
> Subject: PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES MUST BE INCLUDED IN
> DEVELOPMENT
> PROGRAMMES – UN
>
>
> PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES MUST BE INCLUDED IN DEVELOPMENT
> PROGRAMMES –
> UN
> New York, Sep 16 2010 3:05PM
> The United Nations health agency today called on governments, civil
> society
> and aid agencies to confront the “enormous challenge” of helping the
> millions of people in developing countries with mental and
> psychosocial
> disabilities, among the world’s most vulnerable groups.
>
> “Almost three quarters of the global burden of neuropsychiatric
> disorders
> occurs in low- and middle-income countries,” World Health Organization
> http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/mental_disabilities_20100916/en/index.html
> WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a foreword to a new
> http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/mhtargeting/en/index.html
> report, entitled “Targeting people with mental health conditions as a
> vulnerable group,” stressing that they are marginalized in terms of
> development aid and government attention.
>
> “We can measure the costs to individuals, families, societies, and
> economies. And the costs of these disorders, which tend to have an
> early
> onset and are chronically disabling, are enormous. Taking action
> makes good
> economic sense. These disorders interfere, in substantial ways, with
> the
> ability of children to learn and the ability of adults to function in
> families, at work, and in society at large.”
>
> The report calls on development actors to recognize the group’s
> vulnerability, include them in all development initiatives, scale up
> services for mental health in primary care, provide social and
> disability
> benefits, and involve people themselves in designing development
> programmes.
>
> It notes that almost 1 million people commit suicide every year, the
> third
> leading cause of death among young people. Depression is the leading
> cause
> of years lost due to disability worldwide.
>
> According to the report, the majority of development and poverty
> alleviation
> programmes do not reach persons with mental or psychosocial
> disabilities.
> For example, between 75 and 85 per cent do not have access to any
> form of
> mental health treatment. Mental and psychosocial disabilities are
> associated
> with rates of unemployment as high as 90 per cent. Furthermore
> people are
> not provided with educational and vocational opportunities to meet
> their
> full potential.
>
> “A greater attention from the development community is needed to
> reverse
> this situation,” WHO Assistant Director-General for Non-Communicable
> Diseases and Mental Health Ala Alwan said. “The lack of visibility,
> voice
> and power of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities means
> that an
> extra effort needs to be made to reach out to and involve them more
> directly
> in development programmes.”
>
> An estimated one in four people globally will experience a mental
> health
> condition in their lifetime, WHO said, noting that mental health
> conditions
> are responsible for a great deal of mortality and disability,
> accounting for
> 8.8 and 16.6 per cent of the total burden of disease due to health
> conditions in low- and middle-income countries, respectively.
>
> Depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden in
> middle-income countries and the third highest in low-income
> countries by
> 2030. “The challenge is enormous,” the agency said.
>
> “We need to break down the barriers that continue to exclude persons
> with
> mental or psychosocial disabilities,” Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-
> General of
> the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), which is
> working
> with WHO on the issue. “In order for them to have access to better
> opportunities and to benefit from the fruits of development, they
> must also
> be involved in the design of policies and programmes related to
> development.”
>
> The report notes that the group is subjected to high levels of
> stigma and
> discrimination, due to widely held misconceptions about the causes and
> nature of mental health conditions; experiences high levels of
> physical and
> sexual abuse, including in prisons and hospitals; and often encounters
> restrictions in the exercise of their political and civil rights.
>
> The majority of people with mental health conditions in low- and
> middle-income countries are not able to access essential health and
> social
> care. People with severe mental and psychosocial disabilities are
> also much
> less likely to receive treatment for physical illnesses. The
> exclusion of
> children with mental and psychosocial disabilities from education
> causes
> further marginalization.
>
> “Mental health has long been neglected in human development and
> quality of
> life initiatives,” the report declares. “Successful and sustainable
> development policies and programmes require a renewed focus on
> mental health
> issues, through improved recognition of the links between development
> programmes and mental and emotional well-being, and the inclusion of
> persons
> with mental and psychosocial disabilities to achieve development for
> all.”
> ________________
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Tina Minkowitz, Esq.
Center for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry
44 Palmer Pond Rd.
Chestertown, NY 12817 USA
+1-518-494-0174
[log in to unmask]
www.chrusp.org
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