A New Agenda for Mental Health in the Americas
2023
This report published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) provides a comprehensive overview of mental health in the Americas, with a special focus on the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report summarizes key statistics related to mental health in the region and examines how the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated numerous risk factors for mental health conditions, such as grief, financial insecurity, unemployment, isolation, and trauma and abuse. In addition to a surge in mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, the report also highlights disruptions to mental health services spurred by the pandemic; in 2022, 47 percent of countries in the Americas reported continued service disruptions for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders. The report outlines ten policy recommendations to address the growing mental health crisis, such as improved financing, expanding community-based care, and integrating mental health across all policy areas. The report also includes case examples and key actions illustrating strategies for advancing mental health across the Americas.
The report is accompanied by an executive summary.
A New Agenda for Mental Health in the Americas
Source:
A New Agenda for Mental Health in the Americas: Report of the Pan American Health Organization High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. Pan American Health Organization 2023. https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/57508.