MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT: - libdoc.who.int - World ...

Executivesummary
opportunities also is essential to improving the lives of people with mental health
conditions. Development stakeholders have key roles in encouraging countries to
enable access to educational opportunities, as well as supporting early childhood
programmes that have been proven effective for vulnerable groups. Because mental
health conditions are associated with high rates of unemployment, people with
these conditions should be included in income generating programmes. Grants
and support for small business operations have demonstrated benefits, not only
for people with mental health conditions, but also for their families and communities.
It is also essential for development stakeholders to focus on improving human
rights protection for people with mental health conditions, thereby creating enabling
environments. Finally, building the capacity of people with mental health
conditions will enable them to participate fully in public affairs.
All development stakeholders have important roles to play
Development stakeholders have important roles to play in facilitating the implementation
of the principles and actions recommended in this report. Contributions
by development stakeholders occur at the different levels of policy, planning,
implementation, and funding of services at country level, as well as in advocacy of
mental health priorities nationally and globally. One role common to all development
stakeholders is promoting the implementation of the CRPD.
Civil society can play an important role in supporting people with mental health
conditions to access needed resources and to integrate fully into the community,
through direct service provision and advocacy. Services provided by civil
society can include health care, social services, education programmes, and livelihood
(income generation) projects. In addition, civil society can advocate to
government and funders for the need to recognize and support people with mental
health conditions.
Among all development stakeholders, governments have the most important role
to play in creating enabling environments, reducing stigma and discrimination,
promoting human rights, and improving the quality and quantity of services (education,
health, social services and poverty alleviation). In addition, they have a
duty to implement commitments such as the Accra Agenda for Action, the CRPD,
and other human rights conventions. In order to improve development outcomes,
different parts of government need, not only to integrate mental health in their
own sector, but also to work collaboratively with other parts of government and
civil society. Like civil society, government can provide support to create and
strengthen mental health service user groups, and offer opportunities for these
groups to express their views and participate in decision-making.
Academic and research institutions can help improve development outcomes
by generating and synthesizing policy-relevant research findings, as well as by
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