In the context of the emergency in the area, a coordination meeting on the mental health plan for shelters in Piura was held on May 9. Representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Regional Health Authority (Diresa Piura), DEVIDA, the Manantial Foundation, and PAHO/WHO participated in the meeting.
In face of the emergency situation, PAHO's contribution was to hire human resources for strengthening Diresa's actions and coordinating mental health activities in shelters. One of the mission's achievement was the identification of 25 community mental health promoters who, among other things, should provide psychosocial support and psychological first aid.
Emphasis was laid on the importance of working on the reform of mental health services in the context of this critical situation, to make them operative and efficient. Dr. Andrea Bruni, PAHO/WHO Subregional Advisor on Mental Health and Substance Use, emphasized the need to strengthen case identification capacities, as the prevalence of mental disorders tends to increase after an emergency and general and specialized health services may be exceeded. It is therefore important to strengthen both, the health sector response capacity and mental health care, by leaning on the community.
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