PAHO Urges Investment in Mental Health Programmes

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, is encouraging member countries to follow through on planned investments in mental health service delivery, which she says is foundational to the region’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response.

Speaking during PAHO’s COVID-19 digital briefing on Wednesday (August 18), Dr. Etienne said while many countries have prioritised mental health by integrating support for service delivery within their COVID-19 response plans, “few have backed these promises with funding or put these plans into action”.

The Director acknowledged countries in Latin America and the Caribbean already doing so, while impressing upon others the need to “follow through on your promises by investing in mental health programmes”.

Dr. Etienne said many countries across the Americas are facing a mental health crisis resulting from the pandemic which, if left unattended, “will have severe consequences”.

“It will not only worsen the mental health burden in our region, but also prolong the pandemic’s impact,” she added.

Dr. Etienne said data generated more than 16 months after the virus arrived in the region paint a grim picture of its impact on mental health.

She noted that the demand for psychosocial support “has never been higher, yet these services have never been more out of reach”.

Notably, the Director pointed out, is the fact that three-fourths of member countries have reported partial or complete disruptions in mental health services during the pandemic; and more than half of school-based mental health programmes and over three-fourths of out-of-school programmes have been partially or entirely disrupted at a time when more than 15 per cent of young people are experiencing depression.

Additionally, she said nearly 90 per cent of countries report that mental health counselling and psychotherapy services have been disrupted, “yet, today, up to 60 per cent of people in our region are suffering from anxiety or depression”.

“These widespread disruptions have meant that many people who may be experiencing mental health challenges for the first time – including our frontline health workers who have been operating in crisis mode for more than a year [due to COVID-19] – lack the support they need to adequately manage their conditions,” the Director posited.

She further said people already living with mental health disorders have struggled to access medications or essential therapies, adding that this “can worsen their conditions and leave them vulnerable to crisis”.

Dr. Etienne said, to support member states, PAHO has updated guidelines to ensure health workers can meet patients’ evolving needs amid ongoing COVID disruptions.

“We are also working with countries to reduce stigma in our region, because everyone who needs mental health support should feel comfortable and safe asking for help,” she added.

Dr. Etienne maintained that countries “must invest in mental health now”, to weather the pandemic’s ongoing threat and limit its ripple effects for years to come.

“This pandemic is a reminder that good mental health is a lynchpin for our region’s health and the well-being of our societies… and ultimately [critical] to our [post-COVID-19] recovery and rebuilding process,” she added.