International health experts have called for a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to focus global attention on mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders as a core development issue.
As the world is moving faster in every domain, there is little space for the people to live a relaxed healthy life. In the recent past, there have been growing incidents of people committing suicide due to excess mental stress and other psychological disorders. Mental stress leads to depression which is further regarded as the cause for many other related diseases.
In view of this, a group of international health experts has called for a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to focus global attention on mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders as a core development issue requiring commitments to improve access to care, promote human rights, and strengthen the evidence on effective prevention and treatment.
“The time has come for recognition at the highest levels of global development, namely the UN General Assembly, of the urgent need for a global strategy to address the global burden of MNS disorders,” health experts say.
The health experts, led by Vikram Patel from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) and Judith Bass from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (USA) said, MNS disorders – a relatively new acronym coined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to refer to the complete range of disorders of the brain and the mind - are leading contributors to the global burden of disease and profoundly impact the social and economic well-being of individuals and communities.
Yet the majority of people affected by MNS disorders globally do not have access to evidence-based interventions and many experience discrimination and abuses of their human rights.
Experts feel that there are three broad areas of action needed for urgent investment. One is to enhance access to evidence-based packages of care for the treatment of MNS disorders. Second is to realize the human rights commitment enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to ensure that people with MNS disorders live a life with dignity and the third is to expand knowledge about MNS disorders.
Health experts also encourage support for the development of a “People's Charter for Mental Health” that intends to identified priority needs into practical actionable steps for country implementation. “This charter will be developed in consultation with the organizations from 96 countries who have signed up to the “Great Push” initiative so far, representing over one million people including consumers, family members, advocates, researchers, professional organizations, and policy makers,” they said.
“Together, this grand coalition of local, national, and global actors will converge their energies towards the UN special session to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing the global burden of MNS disorders,” opined the experts.
Source:Pharmabiz
No comments:
Post a Comment