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Burden of neuropsychiatric conditions as a proportion of the total burden of disease, globally and in the Americas, estimates for 2000
Presence of mental health policies and legislation in countries of the Americas, 2000
Children's exposure to smoke at home in selected cities of countries of the Americas
Consumption of alcohol among those > 14 years of age, 1999

Ensuring Mental Health, Advocating Healthy Lifestyles

Mental health is crucial to the overall well-being of individuals, societies, and countries. Nevertheless, an estimated 150 million people in the Americas suffer from mental or neurological disorders or from psychosocial problems. Some 17 million young people in the 5-17-year age group in Latin America and the Caribbean are affected by mental disorders that are severe enough to require treatment. One in five people in the Americas will suffer a mental disorder over the course of a lifetime. Such disorders contribute significantly to disability and represent one-fourth of the Region's burden of disease. Mental health has been neglected for far too long, especially in light of the fact that many people with mental and brain disorders can be successfully treated:

  • Up to 60% of people can be expected to recover from depression.
  • Up to 60% reduction of drug use is feasible.
  • Up to 70% of patients with epilepsy can live free of seizures.
  • Up to 80% of relapses of schizophrenia can be prevented.

Nevertheless, millions have no access to effective treatments and interventions.

The Organization has helped craft national mental health policies and plans in Barbados, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, and has worked to improve mental health care services in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

To protect those suffering from mental illness, PAHO and the oas's Inter-American Commission on Human Rights devised a strategy that couples mental health and human rights. Workshops conducted in Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and Paraguay have served to disseminate international standards and norms so that they will be incorporated in national legislation.

Tobacco Control

Recent years have brought mixed results for tobacco control in the Americas, where the prevalence of tobacco use has remained stable in most countries. An international treaty on tobacco control under development holds promise, however, as a means of reversing the trend.

For its part, PAHO focuses efforts on broad-based policy areas known to be effective in reducing tobacco use: increases in tobacco taxes, elimination of tobacco promotion, and creation of smoke-free environments.

Alcohol Control

After the most developed countries, where 15.6% of the burden of disease is attributable to alcohol, Latin America has the second largest burden-14.7%. Adolescents and young adults are responsible for the greatest portion of that burden. In response to this situation, PAHO is developing a "strong families" program to target those with teenagers.

This article originally appeared in Charting a Future for Health in the Americas: Quadrennial Report of the Director - Centennial Edition