On October 17, the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador presented WHO's QualityRights initiative, first module. Dr. Andrea Bruni, Subregional Advisor on Mental Health of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), pointed out that some of this program's tools have already been implemented in the country to evaluate mental health quality and human rights in health facilities.
Patients, relatives and health professionals from various institutions participated: Fundación Lady Laura, Calderón's Mental Health Center, Epidemiological Surveillance Office (Ministry of Health), Local Health Committee, Fundación Featem, Casa de Acogida Armonizarte and Huerto Manías.
Human rights were addressed from the participants' positive and negative experiences. "A good life requires social relations;we have the right to have a worthwhile friend, a friend can save a life; we have the right to a territory to live in," said one of the attendees.Work was mentioned as an important right to achieve a good life, which is linked to mental health patients' autonomy.
Also discussed were the situation of hospitals and the need of users and family members to receive psycho-education, which provides them with relevant information,coupled with a variety of services to make an impact on welfare and human rights.
