Prevention and intervention in mental health are considered issues of extreme urgency according to the last meeting of the World Health Assembly, that was last May.

During the meeting, delegates agreed the necessity of intensifying the efforts in a global level to curb the impact of the non-communicable diseases (among them, the mental disorders). They request to deal specifically with the prevention and control of these diseases in the General Assembly of the United Nations that will be next year, because of the importance and effect of this problem.

Also, it has been reiterate the commitment of the international community to reduce by a third the premature death caused by the non-communicable diseases in the year 2030 and to promote the mental health and welfare. A target that, according to the experts, is still far from achieving because every year dead 15 millions of people between 30 and 70 years due to non-communicable diseases.

Regarding mental health and welfare, the Member States pointed that it is required urgent measures to improve the clinical care of these problems. Especially, through the implementation of multi-sectoral approaches and based on the evidence. They also remarked the importance to adopt a framework of a public health, focused on people, that takes into account the prevention, promotion of the mental health, welfare and palliative care.

According to the draft of the report of the meeting, “recognising that the mental disorders and other conditions of the mental health contribute to the global burden of non-communicable diseases and that people with mental disorders and other problems of mental health have a greater risk of developing other non-communicable diseases and higher rates of illness and mortality, we commit to implement measures to improve the mental health and welfare, to address the social determinants and other necessities of health and human rights of people with mental disorders and other problems of mental health and to prevent the suicide as a part of integral response to the non-communicable disease.”

The response of Governments to the non-communicable diseases and mental health constitutes an integral part of the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development. In this regard, as pointed out in the document mentioned, “the advice of the WHO to the Member States about how to deal with the determinants and risks factors is still being essential for the world action about non-communicable diseases and mental health.”

Source: InfocopOnline Newsletter