A group of international experts was convened by the Mental Health and Substance Use Unit of the Pan American Health Organization in Washington D.C., December 5-6, 2017, to address deinstitutionalization.The objectives were to identify strategies, experiences and suggestions for promoting and enhancing this process in the Americas, and to detect other possible strategies and actions to effectively continue with the reduction of beds in psychiatric hospitals.
Several professionals from the Region participated in the meeting, representing some of the leading countries in deinstitutionalization and reorganization of mental health services processes at the national level, countries with many years of experience (Brazil and Chile) and those that have recently made efforts in this direction (Dominican Republic and Peru).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the average percentage of the health budget dedicated to mental health is 2.1%, more than 80% of which goes to psychiatric hospitals, which in turn only serve 10% of the population receiving mental health care.Almost three decades after the Caracas Declaration, when all countries committed themselves to overcoming the psychiatric hospital-based care model and promoting the development of mental health services in the community, the condition of these services continues to be very worrying.Even in those countries where progress has been made, there is often a threat to go back.
Participants reviewed the situation of mental health services in the Americas, identifying future steps to follow for the promotion of deinstitutionalization processes in the Region.The group agreed on a work plan for 2018 that includes various actions to work in coordination on strategies for overcoming the existing model of services in a sustainable mannerand, at the same time, to promote the fight against all abuses and discrimination suffered by people with mental health problems.
