The Organization holds a workshop in Mexico City to train facilitators in promoting and protecting human rights in mental health.
Washington, D.C., December 10, 2024—The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) trained facilitators to promote and protect human rights related to mental health. This work aims to strengthen and improve the health and care services received by people affected by a mental health problem, as well as other services and mechanisms relevant to protecting their rights. In addition, PAHO will support the proposed implementation plans for Central America, the Latin Caribbean, and Mexico.
In this way, the support for the participants' proposals will provide continuity to the training session held in Mexico City between November 6 and 9. It will document changes, support progress, and analyze good practices.
The workshop highlighted the essential need to work on mental health within national and international human rights legal frameworks and the importance of intersectoral strategies (health authorities and other institutions with relevant competencies, control mechanisms such as national human rights institutions, etc.) and work with civil society.
"In the workshop, we developed a strategy to link the health sector with national human rights institutions and civil society. The idea is that these people who have participated return to their countries and replicate what they have learned as facilitators so that this work continues with specific implementation plans," said Olger González, regional human rights advisor at PAHO.
The human rights situation in mental health continues to face many challenges in the Americas. "At PAHO, we believe that one of the necessary steps is to raise awareness and train teams to promote the development of appropriate legislation that respects human rights in mental health, but also policies and plans that can ensure services, promotion, prevention, as well as care and treatment of mental health, always with a rights-based approach," said Carmen Martínez Viciana, regional mental health advisor.
The participants, including mental health personnel assigned to ministries of health, human rights commissions, and civil society from eight countries in the Region, committed to proposing an implementation plan to improve the situation of mental health human rights in each of their countries. PAHO will provide support for its implementation.
The workshop was organized by the Mental Health Unit (of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health) and the Equity, Gender, Human Rights and Cultural Diversity Unit (of the Department of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity), together with the PAHO Representation in Mexico.
