PAHO hosts The Lancet Global Mental Health Series America's Launch

PAHO Headquarters in Washington D. C. will be the venue for The Lancet Global Mental Health series America's Launch with the goals to complement the series with a focus on the Americas, and to identify areas of synergy and potential hemispheric and global collaboration regarding underserved populations in all low, middle and high income countries.

Event at PAHO Headquarters in Washington

PAHO hosts The Lancet Global Mental Health Series America's Launch

WHAT: PAHO Headquarters in Washington D. C. will be the venue for The Lancet Global Mental Health series America's Launch with the goals to complement the series with a focus on the Americas, and to identify areas of synergy and potential hemispheric and global collaboration regarding underserved populations in all low, middle and high income countries.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 7 2008 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

WHERE: PAHO Regional Headquarters in Washington at 525 23rd St., N.W., (Room B), 2nd floor. PAHO is located in the intersection of Virginia Avenue and 23rd St., just four blocks from the Foggy Bottom metro stop.

WHO: PAHO Deputy Director Dr. Cristina Beato will offer opening remarks. Dr. Maja Zecevic (The Lancet) and Dr. Eliot Sorel (George Washington University) will introduce the program.

Panelists and world experts will also include:

• Vikram Patel, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Sangath Centre, Goa (India)
• Thomas Insel, National Institute of Mental Health
• David Satcher, Morehouse School of Medicine
• Ron C. Kessler, Harvard School of Medicine and
• Dr. Robert Freedman, chief editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry

A press conference will take place between 12 and 12:30 PM.

CONTEXT:

• The prevalence of mental health disorders is increasing, due to poverty, migration, conflicts, and natural disasters, and this impedes the limited global efforts aimed at overcoming the suffering and neglect of individuals with mental health disorders, and associated stigma and discrimination.
• Nearly 500 million people worldwide suffer from neuropsychiatric disorders, representing about 14 percent of the global burden of disease.
• A lack of financial and human resources can prevent the implementation of interventions for prevention and treatment of mental disorders in low and middle-income countries, as well as in the developed world.
• The Lancet Global Mental Health series seeks to bring about a powerful, focused, and multidisciplinary call for action, dedication two years to evaluate progress on efforts to increase public awareness, evidence-based research, strategies, and policies conceived and implemented globally in the area of mental health.

PAHO, founded in 1902, works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.