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WHO calls for dignity in mental health
A life of dignity: WHO South-East Asia Region director Poonam Khetrapal Singh says allowing dignity should be the core of professional treatment for people with mental illness during her remarks at a celebration of World Mental Health Day on Saturday
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A life of dignity: WHO South-East Asia Region director Poonam Khetrapal Singh says allowing dignity should be the core of professional treatment for people with mental illness during her remarks at a celebration of World Mental Health Day on Saturday.(who.int) (who.int)
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span class="inline inline-center">A life of dignity: WHO South-East Asia Region director Poonam Khetrapal Singh says allowing dignity should be the core of professional treatment for people with mental illness during her remarks at a celebration of World Mental Health Day on Saturday.(who.int)
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is committed to working toward a future where people with mental health conditions live a life of dignity ' a fundamental human right.
WHO South-East Asia Region director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said dignity had emerged as one of the most daunting challenges in mental health. Dignity in mental health, he said, meant taking steps to safeguard the well-being of people with mental health conditions, liberating them from the shackles of self-stigma, low confidence, low self-esteem, withdrawal and social isolation.
'To break the barrier of prejudice and insensitivity, dignity and mental health have to go hand-in-hand. We will achieve dignity in mental health when communities, families and individuals have the confidence to seek help for mental health problems without fear and inhibition,' she said in her remarks at a celebration of World Mental Health Day on Saturday.
WHO says mental, neurological and substance use disorders affect every community and age group across countries of all levels of development. Around 14 percent of the global burden of disease is attributed to these disorders and most of the people affected ' almost 75 percent ' are from low-income countries and do not have access to treatment they need.
Khetrapal Singh said that WHO promoted a shift from long-stay mental hospitals, in themselves stigmatizing, to care in community-based settings, which was more acceptable and dignified.
'Together we need to ensure that mental health strategies, actions and interventions for treatment, prevention and promotion are compliant with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international and regional human-rights instruments,' she said. (ebf)
