Investment in Mental Health
I was invited to make a presentation on the importance of investing in psychosocial and mental health support for Internally Displaced Persons.
It is critical to bring together different stakeholders as we work towards building a multisectoral, collaborative, and integrated approach for mental health investment. We had high-level representation including the Co-Founder of United for Global Mental Health, the Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organisation, the Special Envoy for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands, and the Deputy Minister of Benefits and Health Insurance in Peru.
Policy discussions that lead to action must continue in order to create the impact that we want to see. To truly invest in mental health, we must leave no one behind, including internally displaced persons. When we heal their psychosocial wounds, we heal households and communities, helping them to rebuild their lives with dignity.
You can also read my recent article titled, “psychosocial support in crises and protracted displacement – leave no one behind” here: https://wp.me/pa3rxo-m7
Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, October 9-10, 2018 London, United Kingdom
I was invited to be a speaker and panellist at the first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, hosted by the UK Government, in partnership with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Summit brought together political leaders, innovators, experts-by-experience, policy makers and civil society to share the most innovative approaches to mental health around the world.
My presentation focused on an Integrated Approach to Rehabilitating IDPs with Dignity under Multisectoral Investment Programs as part of the workstream session on “The Economics of, and Investment in, Mental Health.”
Click on the link below to read the report.
Rehabilitating IDPs with Dignity under Multisectoral Investment Programs_PDF
High-Level Meeting “Moving the Needle: Mental Health Stories from Around the World”
I was invited to speak at a High-Level Meeting “Moving the Needle: Mental Health Stories from Around the World”, organized by the World Bank Group, with the support of the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Embassy of Canada, as part of 2018 WBG-IMF Spring Meetings, on April 19, 2018.
This event focused on Mental Health stories from around the World including those arising from situations of conflict and vulnerability.
I presented a summary of my report titled – “An Integrated Approach to Rehabilitating IDPs with Dignity” with a focus on mental health effects of displacement – the felt but unseen burden of displaced persons.
Click on the link below to read the report.
Internally Displaced Persons 