Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article synthesizes the views of participants in two roundtables that were convened in Nairobi ( March 2007) and London ( July 2008) to identify key challenges to the prioritization of mental health in Africa and possible solutions. Participants included leading development experts and policy m...

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Main Authors:	Jenkins, R., Baingana, F., Belkin, G., Borowitz, M., Daly, A., Francis, P., Friedman, J., Garrison, P., Kauye, F., Kiima, D., Mayeya, J., Mbatia, J., Tyson, S., Njenga, F., Gureje, O., Sadiq, S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	EN
Published:	2012
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5257

id	okr-10986-5257
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-52572021-04-23T14:02:21Z Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa Jenkins, R. Baingana, F. Belkin, G. Borowitz, M. Daly, A. Francis, P. Friedman, J. Garrison, P. Kauye, F. Kiima, D. Mayeya, J. Mbatia, J. Tyson, S. Njenga, F. Gureje, O. Sadiq, S. This article synthesizes the views of participants in two roundtables that were convened in Nairobi ( March 2007) and London ( July 2008) to identify key challenges to the prioritization of mental health in Africa and possible solutions. Participants included leading development experts and policy makers from head and country offices of international donors, national directors of mental health for several African countries, key mental health and public health professionals, epidemiologists, and an international nongovernmental organization. The challenges they identified to mainstreaming mental health include lack of understanding of the contribution of mental disorders to morbidity and mortality, competition for limited resources within health reform efforts, poor distribution of interventions and lack of inclusion of mental health among core generic health indicators, lack of economic research evidence, lack of a strategic approach to human resources planning, lack of partnerships with the social development sector, and mental health professionals' need for public health skills to effectively conduct national advocacy. Potential solutions include further investment in economic research, better strategic identification of the levers and entry points for integrating mental health into health sector reform plans, more vigorous engagement of mental health professionals in general health sector reforms, strengthening the linkage between mental health and social development, and intensive resource mobilization. In summary, partnerships, underpinned by collaborative training, research, and mutual dialogue with other health and nonhealth sectors, are needed. ( Psychiatric Services 61: 229-234, 2010) 2012-03-30T07:32:01Z 2012-03-30T07:32:01Z 2010 Journal Article Psychiatric Services 1075-2730 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5257 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Africa
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	EN
geographic_facet	Africa
relation	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description	This article synthesizes the views of participants in two roundtables that were convened in Nairobi ( March 2007) and London ( July 2008) to identify key challenges to the prioritization of mental health in Africa and possible solutions. Participants included leading development experts and policy makers from head and country offices of international donors, national directors of mental health for several African countries, key mental health and public health professionals, epidemiologists, and an international nongovernmental organization. The challenges they identified to mainstreaming mental health include lack of understanding of the contribution of mental disorders to morbidity and mortality, competition for limited resources within health reform efforts, poor distribution of interventions and lack of inclusion of mental health among core generic health indicators, lack of economic research evidence, lack of a strategic approach to human resources planning, lack of partnerships with the social development sector, and mental health professionals' need for public health skills to effectively conduct national advocacy. Potential solutions include further investment in economic research, better strategic identification of the levers and entry points for integrating mental health into health sector reform plans, more vigorous engagement of mental health professionals in general health sector reforms, strengthening the linkage between mental health and social development, and intensive resource mobilization. In summary, partnerships, underpinned by collaborative training, research, and mutual dialogue with other health and nonhealth sectors, are needed. ( Psychiatric Services 61: 229-234, 2010)
format	Journal Article
author	Jenkins, R. Baingana, F. Belkin, G. Borowitz, M. Daly, A. Francis, P. Friedman, J. Garrison, P. Kauye, F. Kiima, D. Mayeya, J. Mbatia, J. Tyson, S. Njenga, F. Gureje, O. Sadiq, S.
spellingShingle	Jenkins, R. Baingana, F. Belkin, G. Borowitz, M. Daly, A. Francis, P. Friedman, J. Garrison, P. Kauye, F. Kiima, D. Mayeya, J. Mbatia, J. Tyson, S. Njenga, F. Gureje, O. Sadiq, S. Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
author_facet	Jenkins, R. Baingana, F. Belkin, G. Borowitz, M. Daly, A. Francis, P. Friedman, J. Garrison, P. Kauye, F. Kiima, D. Mayeya, J. Mbatia, J. Tyson, S. Njenga, F. Gureje, O. Sadiq, S.
author_sort	Jenkins, R.
title	Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_short	Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full	Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr	Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort	mental health and the development agenda in sub-saharan africa
publishDate	2012
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5257
_version_	1764394478031863808

Mental Health and the Development Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa

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