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New Mental Health Regional Framework
July 20, 2023
WHO has published the Regional Framework for the future of mental health in the Western Pacific 2023-2030 in June.
The Framework overall aims are to promote the highest level of mental health for all people in the Region, and was endorsed by the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in October 2022.
Envisioned to support Member States in designing national strategies, plans, and policies on mental health, the Framework also looks to strengthen political advocacy for greater resources and commitment, and to encourage coordination and collaboration among partners in order to build back better and fairer, creating mental health systems that are more resilient for the future. The framework acknowledges that good mental health is integral to the well-being of everyone, and that promoting and protecting mental health is also critical to a well-functioning society.
In the Framework, WHO writes that the Western Pacific Region has seen profound effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on day to day life. This can create momentum for profound changes to the way that health services support mental health and well-being. To support all people, WHO urged all WHO Member States to use the Regional Framework as a guide to Refocus, Transform and Embed.
WHO outlined three directional strategies to describe the way forward for the mental health agenda in the Western Pacific Region;
- Refocus the mental health agenda to include well-being and reaching the unreached through leadership that champions mental health in all policies, and strategies generated from the grounds up that match solutions to the voiced needs of communities, supported by strategic communication and advocacy.
- Transform mental health support and care into a community-based ecosystem of health and social services and innovations, enabled by an expanded and well-trained mental health workforce comprising specialists, non-specialists and social networks, delivering the full range of interventions, and underpinned by a responsive information system that drives impact.
- Embed mental health into the settings and journeys of daily life by engaging and empowering communities with tools and platforms that enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors across the life course, and by fostering social interventions and partnerships with co-benefits for mental health and other social sectors.
The Framework is now available online here https://www.who.int/westernpacific/publications-detail/9789290620075
