World Mental Health Day Observed Oct. 10
Washington, DC, October 10, 2003 (PAHO)—World Mental Health Day 2003 is being observed today in a drive to focus worldwide attention on the identification, treatment, and prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents.
Around 20 percent of children and adolescents worldwide suffer from an impairing mental illness, according to estimates from the World Federation for Mental Health.
In Latin America, six recent community-based studies concluded that between 15 percent and 23 percent of children and adolescents suffered mental health problems. Of these, 3 percent to 4 percent had severe mental disorders requiring special treatment, according to Dr. Claudio T. Miranda, regional advisor in mental health at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Child and adolescent mental health needs are best addressed by providing a safe and support environment, providing information for better decision-making, building the skills of professionals, health-care providers and patients, and assuring access to adequate health-care services, said Miranda.
"The theme for World Mental Health Day 2003, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Adolescents, builds on last year's campaign, which focused worldwide attention on the effects of trauma and violence on the mental and emotional well-being of young people," said former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, honorary chair of World Mental Health Day. "This year's campaign is equally important and timely, as far too little attention and resources are currently allocated to understanding and effectively treating these problems experienced by children and adolescents," she added.
Available figures show that most children in need of mental health care in the Americas do not receive the required treatment, Miranda noted. "From a financial perspective, the evidence is clear that early treatment of children and adolescents can reduce the costs of care in later years as well as the costs to society of anti-social behaviors that may result from the failure of treatment of early childhood disorders," he said.
Suicide in youth is a pervasive mental health problem and the 3rd leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide, according to data, and substance abuse in adolescents is also a worldwide problem. PAHO is working with the countries to develop child and adolescent mental health programs, Miranda said. "The development of appropriate strategies targeting child mental health in addition to specialized services in this area can have a strong impact," he added.
PAHO, which also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, has been working for more than 100 years with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their peoples.
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