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MENTAL HEALTH BULLETIN

November - December 2016, Vol. 11 No. 5

Costa Rica - II Central American Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights

The II Central American Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights, -San José, October 17-21-, was organized by the Central American Mental Health Network "United Families for Mental Health", a user and family associations’ network that is progressively integrating new groups in the Subregion. 

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Guatemala - Workshop for the development of a National Strategic Plan for Mental Health 

The first workshop for the preparation of Guatemala’s National Strategic Plan for Mental Health was held on November 3. It was organized by the Mental Health Program of the Ministry of Health and PAHO/WHO Country Office, who convened key professionals in the area. The workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministry’s Mental Health and Epidemiology programs, of the Mental Health Hospital’s decentralization committee as well as by psychiatrists and psychologists of the same hospital, the Guatemalan Association of Psychiatry, the NGO "Alas Pro Salud Mental, and some relevant universities.
 
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Brasil - mhGAP training in Rio de Janeiro
 
On November 6 and 7, a training the trainers course on the mhGAP Intervention Guide was held at the Institute of Social Medicine of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). It was sponsored by PAHO Brazil and organized by the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on Primary Health Care (LIPAPS/UERJ), with the support of Rio’s Municipal Health Secretariat.

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St Kitts and Nevis - Seminario y taller internacional sobre difusión del control del alcohol

Los días 9 y 10 de noviembre, el equipo de investigación del Estudio Internacional Controlado sobre Alcohol en St Kitts and Nevis organizó un seminario para difundir sus resultados. El seminario contó con la participación de autoridades de salud, seguridad nacional, policía y educación, así como investigadores y entrevistadores que participaron en el estudio. 
 
Los resultados preliminares muestran altos niveles de consumo tanto por parte de adultos como de jóvenes, con tendencias generales que sitúan al alcohol como un factor de riesgo muy importante para enfermedades no transmisibles, lesiones, violencia y problemas de salud mental en el país. El estudio también analizó las políticas de control del alcohol y encontró que necesitaban ser fortalecidas y que la comercialización del alcohol está muy extendida, así como su disponibilidad; además, los impuestos no son lo suficientemente altos como para poner los precios a un nivel que desaliente el consumo.

Webinar sobre masculinidades y el suicidio entre los hombres en las Américas

El suicidio es un grave problema de salud pública. A nivel mundial, el número de vidas que se pierden cada año debido al suicidio supera el número de muertes por homicidio y guerras combinados. Cada suicidio es una tragedia que afecta a familias, comunidades y países enteros. Aunque son más las mujeres que intentan suicidarse con respecto a los hombres, las tasas de suicidio masculino son mayores, representan aproximadamente el 79% de todas las muertes por suicidio en las Américas. 

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Slovenia - 3rd meeting of the Coordinating Council for the implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. 

Representatives of WHO’s Coordinating Council for the implementation of the Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol met at the 7th European Alcohol Policy Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 21-23 November. The Region of the Americas was represented by participants from the USA, Chile and Costa Rica. Conclusions from the meeting included strengthening regional networks, such as PANNAPH in the Americas; finalizing an implementation toolkit as part of capacity building activities for scaling up implementation of the global strategy; and supporting a WHO Public Health Forum on alcohol, drugs, and addictive behaviors.

National alcohol policy workshops in Suriname, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile

Brazil. The Fiocruz Foundation, in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, PAHO, some NGOs, and several experts from Brazil, organized an international alcohol policy conference to discuss gaps and needs regarding such policies in Brazil, in order to achieve a reduction in alcohol related harm. Dr. Maristela Monteiro -PAHO’s Senior Advisor on Alcohol-, as well as Dr. Thomas Babor and other experts, attended the two-day meeting, October 24 and 25. Over 100 participants from various backgrounds and different states of the country contributed to the discussions around the current situation and future perspectives on alcohol and other drug policies. 

Suriname. The first national workshop to develop a national alcohol policy and plan was organized (14-17 November) by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with several government sectors, PAHO /WHO and some NGOs. About 60 participants discussed the current situation regionally and nationally, reviewed which policies exist, discussed barriers and proposed activities for the next 5 years based on the 10 alcohol policy areas of WHO’s Global Strategy for reducing harmful use of alcohol. 

Paraguay. A workshop was organized in Asunción, 20-21 November, to develop a national alcohol plan and activities to meet Paraguay’s goals for improving traffic safety and for its non-communicable diseases plan by 2024. The workshop was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, PAHO/WHO, NGOs, and several other government sectors. About 30 participants discussed the current situation regionally and nationally, as well as policies, and existing barriers to the effective implementation of measures for controlling alcohol related traffic injuries and reducing mortality and morbidity from major non-communicable diseases.

Chile. The Del Pino University organized an international conference on alcohol policy in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Chile, SENDA (the National Service for drugs and Alcohol Use Prevention and Rehabilitation), PAHO/WHO, NGOs, and several universities and government sectors. The goal of the conference was to discuss minimum prices and alcohol marketing regulation, as well as to bring together national experts working at all levels in Chile, including basic science, epidemiology, policy and treatment.  Dr. Thomas Babor (USA), Dr. Peter Rice (Scotland) and Dr. Maristela Monteiro from PAHO, along with over 60 participants, discussed current efforts at the national level and the possibilities for future collaboration in order to reduce alcohol related harms in Chile.  

PUBLICATIONS - COURSES - CONFERENCES

Regional Workshop on Suicide Prevention technical report on the web

The technical report on the Regional Workshop on Suicide Prevention held in San José, Costa Rica, 11-12 May, is now available on PAHO/WHO’s website. To access the report (in Spanish), please visit: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&Itemid=270&gid=37184&lang=es

PAHO/WHO launched report on the Regional meeting on alcohol, drugs and driving 

Washington, DC. 5-7 May. – PAHO/WHO organized a technical meeting with researchers from various countries in the Americas, and WHO and PAHO staff, to review research on drink- and drug-driving carried out in the Americas (particularly in Latin American and Caribbean countries - LAC), and determine research gaps; discuss the types of studies that could be carried out in LAC countries in the future; and review the feasibility of undertaking one or more studies using a common protocol. This meeting’s report is now available online.

For more information and to access the report, please visit:

Links
Bulletin INEBRIA Latina 
mhGAP Newsletter 
website-dedicated-to-youth-mental-health 

Social Media
www.facebook.com/PAHOdisasters 
www.twitter.com/PAHOdisasters

Credits

Editorial Committee: Dévora Kestel, Claudina Cayetano, Maristela Monteiro, Luis Alfonzo, Armando Vasquez, Andrea Bruni, Carmen Martinez, Blake Smith, Maria Florencia Di Masi and Martha Koev.

PAHO’s Mental Health Bulletin is published bimonthly in English and Spanish.

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