Peru - Seminar workshop on mental health research

The "Research agenda in mental health care reform" seminar workshop was held at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization in Lima, on July 14.It was jointly organized by the Ministry of Health and Fundación Manantialwith the purpose of encouraging the development of new evidence in mental health within the Peruvian context and to reduce the existing data gap.

The growth of mental health care after the implementation of the first thirty Community Mental Health Centers was highlighted during the workshop.According to figures from the Ministry of Health, mental health care increased by 150%.

The event was attended by Dr. Dévora Kestel, PAHO/WHO Mental Health and Substance Use Unit Chief,and by researchers representing various national and international institutions, such as RedeAmerica (Latin America Regional Network on Mental Health),the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States (NIMH), the Columbia and Texas universities (USA), O'Higgins University (Chile), Fundación Manantial, the Ministry of Health, and the "Honorio Delgado - Hideyo Noguchi National Institute of Mental Health," among others.