The U.S. Global Mental Health Alliance, assisted by CRD Associates, held an informational meeting on global mental health for members of Congress, their staff, Alliance members, and other interested parties on July 23, 2024, at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington, D.C. The title of the meeting was ‘Mental Health: The World's Most Neglected Health Challenge.’ The purpose was to provide attendees with information on the importance of mental health globally and its impact on wellbeing, physical health, and social and economic development. Attendees also heard that we now have sufficient technical capacity to implement cost-effective mental health programming, with the major challenges being political will and willingness to adequately support programming logistically and financially.
The session consisted of brief presentations by four global mental health experts. Dr. Paul Bolton, Senior Scientist in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, began by describing the need for mental health programming. Rawan Hamadeh, Project HOPE Mental Health Specialist, spoke about how, despite the many challenges faced by Lebanon (economic, political, and large numbers of refugees), the country has implemented an effective and accessible mental health program that can serve as an example to other countries. Dr. Georgia Karoutzou, International Medical Corps MHPSS Advisor, spoke about the importance and nature of mental health programming in humanitarian situations. Finally, Amani Tom, founder of the Congo Peace School Program in Democratic Republic of Congo, spoke about the critical role of mental health services as part of his school’s education program. Although not a mental health worker, he credits these services for the school’s 100% graduation rate and high academic performance.
The session ended with a review of how the U.S. government and U.S. organizations could support global mental health. The major recommendation was integration of mental health services into other programs rather than as standalone services. This is based on the impact of poor mental health on many foreign assistance programs, notably physical health (infectious and noncommunicable diseases), education, social development, and poverty alleviation. Integration would improve both mental health and the outcomes of these programs, and would make services more private and accessible. A second recommendation was to address the pervasive stigma and discrimination that prevent people from seeking services. This includes working with governments to repeal discriminatory legislation, to be replaced by legislation and programs that assist those with mental health conditions.
The Alliance is committed to reaching out to individual members of Congress and their staff to follow up with smaller individual meetings to encourage and support effective action. In the course of the meeting, the MINDS Act was briefly described as an existing drafted legislation which includes these recommendations, to be discussed in future meetings and materials.
For inquiries about the Congressional briefing and the U.S. Global Mental Health Alliance, please contact Paul Bolton (pbolton1@jhu.edu).
